John Carney (Delaware politician)

Carney during the 112th Congress

Carney was the Democratic nominee for Delaware's at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2010. He faced Republican Glen Urquhart, Independent Party of Delaware nominee Earl R. Lofland, Libertarian Brent A. Wangen, and Blue Enigma Party nominee Jeffrey Brown. The seat had been held since 1993 by Republican Michael Castle, who declined to seek reelection to the House in order to run for the U.S. Senate seat once held by Vice President Joe Biden. In the first week of October, Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind Poll released the results of its opinion research, showing Carney with a 15-point advantage over Urquhart, 51%-36%.[9] Days before the election, a second Fairleigh Dickinson poll showed Carney leading by 17 points, 53% to 36% among likely voters.[10] Carney won the seat by 16 points, 57%-41%, and took office on January 3, 2011. His victory was one of the three seats Democrats gained in a year when they lost a net 63 seats to the Republicans.

In his bid for a second term in 2012, Carney faced Republican Tom Kovach, the president of the New Castle County Council, and two minor candidates. In a debate with Kovach, Carney said, "I will continue to do in Washington what I did in Delaware: work across the aisle to get things done. I learned early on that compromise is part of life." Carney called the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) "not perfect" but the "only chance we have to get costs under control".[11] He was reelected in a landslide, with 64% of the vote to Kovach's 33%. Carney ran for reelection to a third term in 2014. He defeated Republican Rose Izzo, 59% to 37%, with Green nominee Bernie August and Libertarian Scott Gesty taking 2% each.

In 2011, Carney and Illinois Republican Aaron Schock co-sponsored a bill that would use U.S. oil exploration to help fund a five-year federal highway construction project.[12][13]

On April 7, 2014, Carney introduced the Expatriate Health Coverage Clarification Act of 2014 (H.R. 4414; 113th Congress) into the House.[14] The bill would exempt expatriate health care plans from the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.[15] Carney argued that expatriates, a group that includes businessmen, pilots, and ship captains, usually already have special, high-quality health care plans designed to meet their unique needs.[15] He said that "expatriate health insurance plans offer high-end, robust coverage to executives and others working outside their home country, giving them access to a global network of health care providers."[15] He indicated that requiring American expatriate health care providers to meet the Affordable Care Act's tax and reporting requirements would put them at an unfair competitive disadvantage in comparison to foreign companies offering similar health care plans.[15]

Carney has served on the Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade, and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Carney at a campaign event, June 23, 2008

Carney sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 2008, as incumbent Governor Ruth Ann Minner was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. Despite the backing of most of the party establishment, he lost the primary in an upset by fewer than 2,000 votes to State Treasurer Jack Markell, who went on to win the general election.[16] Carney sought the Democratic nomination for governor again in 2016, as Markell was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. Carney won the Democratic primary unopposed and went on to win the general election.[17] He won a second term in 2020, defeating Republican Julianne Murray in a landslide in the general election, with 59.5% of the vote compared to her 38.6%.

On July 12, 2017, after signing Executive Order 11 to reestablish the Juvenile Justice Advisory Group, Carney said, "The Juvenile Justice Advisory Group will help us create an environment where all Delaware kids have an opportunity to succeed. This Executive Order will recharge and reenergize the group to find solutions that will work."[18] On July 20, he vetoed a Delaware House of Representatives bill removing the five-mile radius of Delaware charter schools with enrollment preference and keeping out students in Wilmington, charging it with negatively impacting "some of our most vulnerable students."[19]

On October 13, 2017, in response to President Donald Trump's ending cost-sharing reductions within the American health care system, Carney said the choice would lead to "more people being uninsured in our state, which eventually means increased premiums for all of us" and pledged he would work with the state congressional delegation to return the cost-sharing reductions.[20]

In April 2019, Carney pardoned Barry Croft, a Bear resident who had served a three-year sentence for possessing a gun during the commission of a felony. In October 2020, Croft was arrested and federally charged for his involvement in a kidnapping plot against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The day after Croft's arrest, Carney confirmed the pardon, called the federal charges "disturbing", and said, "This is also another warning sign about the growing threat of violence and radicalization in our politics."[21][22]

On March 12, 2020, one day after the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the state, Carney declared a State of Emergency in Delaware due to a public health threat.[23] He issued a series of declarations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Delaware.[24]

On May 24, 2022, Carney vetoed a bill to legalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults for recreational use, incurring the wrath of fellow Democrats who have fought for years to make cannabis legal.[25]

On June 2022 Carney signed six gun safety bills into law, including an assault weapons ban.[26]

On April 21, 2023, Carney said he would not veto a bill legalizing possession of up to one ounce of cannabis, which led to cannabis effectively becoming legalized in Delaware on April 23 after a bill passed without Carney's signature.[27]