Delaware Senate

The Delaware Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occurs, at which time Senators may be elected to a two-year term. There is no limit to the number of terms that a Senator may serve. The Delaware Senate meets at the Legislative Hall in Dover.

Delaware State Senate
Delaware General Assembly
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 10, 2023
Leadership
President	Bethany Hall-Long (D) since January 17, 2017
President pro tempore	David Sokola (D) since November 4, 2020
Majority Leader	Bryan Townsend (D) since November 4, 2020
Minority Leader	Gerald Hocker (R) since November 7, 2018
Structure
Seats	21
Political groups	Majority   Democratic (15) Minority   Republican (6)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article III, Section 1, Delaware Constitution
Salary	$48,237/year.[1]
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2022 (21 seats)
Next election	November 5, 2024 (10 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber Delaware Legislative Hall Dover, Delaware
Website
Delaware State Senate

In order to accommodate the ten-year cycle of reapportionment, the terms of office of the several Senators are staggered so that ten Senators are elected to terms of two years at the first biennial general election following reapportionment, followed by two four-year terms, and eleven Senators are elected at the said election for two four-year terms, followed by a two-year term.

Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions, boards, or justices to the Delaware Supreme Court.