Ernesto Lopez

Ernesto B. Lopez (born November 16, 1976) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Delaware Senate, where he has represented the 6th District since 2012.[1] He was the first Latino elected to the Delaware Senate.[2]

Ernesto Lopez
Member of the Delaware Senate
from the 6th district
Assumed office
January 8, 2013
Preceded byLiane Sorenson
Personal details
BornRío Piedras, Puerto Rico
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceLewes, Delaware, U.S.
EducationGettysburg College (BA)
University of Delaware (MEd)
Websitelopezforde.com

Early life and education

Born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, Lopez moved to Delaware as a child with his parents.[3] After attending public schools, he earned his Bachelor of Arts at Gettysburg College and his Doctor of Education in educational leadership from the University of Delaware.

Career

After graduating from the University of Delaware, Lopez worked for the university as an administrator. He ran for New Castle County Council President in 2004 but lost to Democrat Paul Clark.[4]

Delaware Senate

In 2012, he ran for and won election to fill the Senate District 6 seat vacated by retiring Republican Liane Sorenson whose district had been redistricted from New Castle County to Sussex County.[5]

Lopez serves the Eastern Region of the Council of State Governments as chair of the Education Committee and on the Executive Committee of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators as Vice-Chair of the Healthcare Taskforce.

Lopez is the prime sponsor of Riley's Law, allowing for children in Delaware to have access to physician prescribed medicinal cannabis. Rylie's Law is named after Rylie Maedler, a now fourteen-year-old constituent of Senator López from Rehoboth Beach.[6]

Lopez is also the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 200 which bans offshore drilling and seismic testing in Delaware's coastal waters.[7]

Personal life

Lopez and his former wife, Janice, have two daughters.[8]

Electoral history
  • In 2004, Lopez ran for New Castle County Council President and won the Republican primary with 7,320 votes (60.97%) against Gary Bowman. However, he lost in the general election to Democrat Paul Clark with 91,836 votes (41.4%).[9][10]
  • In 2012, Lopez ran for the Delaware Senate and won the Republican primary with 2,163 votes (54.9%) against Glen Urquhart.[11] He went on to win the three-way general election with 13,603 votes (56.1%) against Democratic nominee Andrew Staton and Libertarian candidate Gwendolyn Jones.[12]
  • In 2014, Lopez won the general election with 11,633 votes (63.4%) against Democratic nominee Claire Snyder-Hall.[13]
  • In 2018, Lopez won the general election with 14,781 votes (52.6%) against Democratic nominee David B. Baker.[14]

References
  1. "Ernesto Lopez's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  2. Mueller, Sarah (December 27, 2017). "State Sen. Ernie Lopez seeks third term in office". Delaware Public Media.
  3. "About Ernie". Official campaign website. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  4. Cohen, Celia (March 2013). "Unique Campaign Moves Earned Delaware General Assembly Seats". Delaware Today.
  5. "New Sussex County House and Senate seats approved". Cape Gazette. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  6. "Riley's Law helping her to be a kid again". 47abc. 2016-09-08. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  7. "Sen. Ernie Lopez Files Bill to Ban Offshore Drilling | WGMD". Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  8. "Senator Ernesto B Lopez (R)". Dover, Delaware: Delaware General Assembly. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  9. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=121780
  10. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=121783
  11. "State of Delaware Primary Election Official Results". Dover, Delaware: Delaware Commissioner of Elections. September 11, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  12. "State of Delaware General Election Official Results". Dover, Delaware: Delaware Commissioner of Elections. November 6, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  13. "State of Delaware General Election Official Results". Dover, Delaware: Delaware Commissioner of Elections. November 7, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  14. "State of Delaware General Election Official Results". Dover, Delaware: Delaware Commissioner of Elections. November 6, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019.


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