Delaware's next attorney general had big cash advantage

Kathy Jennings will be Delaware's next attorney general. 

Jennings bested Republican Bernard Pepukayi. She garnered 218,332 votes to Pepukayi's 137,725. 

"With the help of all the people here, we will make our criminal justice system fairer and more equal for everyone regardless of the color of our skin, the size of our wallet or the ZIP code where we live," Jennings said in a victory speech at the DoubleTree Hotel in Wilmington. 

Jennings has experience in the Delaware Department of Justice. She spent two decades prosecuting criminal cases and overseeing the department's statewide staff of prosecutors, eventually working as chief deputy attorney general.

Progressives will have high hopes that her tenure will be one that emphasizes reform. On the campaign trail, she hammered the need to reduce incarceration rates and reform the DOJ. 

She won a four-Democrat primary that observers and participants said pushed the campaign rhetoric toward progressive themes. It was the first Democratic primary for attorney general since the '90s.

She won thanks in part to a mountain of cash.

Leading up to the primary, she raised five times more than her closest competitor. She also spent 14 times the rest of her primary opponents combined. Her face could be seen on interstate billboards and Philadelphia-network television spots. 

That advantage did not wane in the general election. From Oct. 8 to 29, she spent about $200,000 to Pepukayi's $18,000. 

"I just want to say, once again, thank you," Jennings said. "As attorney general, I will work very hard, very, very hard each and every day to make Delaware a safer place to live, to work and most importantly to raise our children."

Pepukayi, a lifelong Democrat who has worked for some of the party's highest-ranking elected officials, switched his party registration to run on the Republican ticket. In his general election campaign, he likewise emphasized reducing incarceration rates and improving diversity in the DOJ. 

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.

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