Ruth Briggs King kicks off re-election campaign

With the Mother’s Day birth of twin granddaughters, says Rep. Ruth Briggs King, she is invigorated and ready to continue to represent the constituents of the 37th Representative District.

What legislators do in Dover affects the lives of people every day, King said during her official re-election announcement June 14 in the Old Sussex County Courthouse in Georgetown.

“We’re elected to the do the bidding of the people,” said the lone Republican woman south of Wilmington. “I want to make Delaware better for the generations to come.”

Having represented the district since a special election in 2009, King is seeking her fourth 2-year term.

Immediately following the 10 tolls of the bell affixed to the top of the old courthouse, the short event began at 10 a.m. on the dot.

King’s son, Justin, introduced the representative to the small, but supportive crowd.

He described his mother as a Renaissance woman. She’s been an educator, a businesswoman, dedicated to her family and an elected official, said Justin. She’s everywhere and she puts the hours in, he said.

King was short and to the point. She said her work as a legislator for the district is not done, and, with a new governor and new legislators taking office next year, she said, it will be important to have the connections and relationships she has already established.

King touted her ability to work across the aisle with her Democratic legislators on issues of importance to Sussex County. The role as a negotiator isn’t to always agree, but to at least agree to work together, she said.

“I’m a hard worker, who’s focused on the issues,” she said. “I’m known as a heavy lifter.”

As of now, King doesn’t have a primary opponent, but her general election opponent is Democratic challenger Paulette Rappa, the woman King defeated in 2014 by a nearly two-to-one margin.

King said Rappa told her shortly after the defeat that she was going to run again. She said she welcomes the challenge.

District 37 represents the residents of Georgetown and Long Neck.

The filing deadline to run for office in the Tuesday, Sept. 13 state primary is noon, Tuesday, July 12. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is Saturday, Aug. 20.