Matt Meyer, 52, the county executive in New Castle County, beat the state’s Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and Collin O’Mara, CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, to win the Democratic primary in Delaware on Tuesday.
If he wins in November, he could be the second Jewish governor after Jack A. Markell, who took office in 2009 and served two terms.
Meyer, who is married with three young children, described his experiences growing up in an interview with Jewish Insider, which included his mother driving an hour and a half to Lakeview, N.J., to buy kosher meat and his leadership in Jewish youth organizations.
“We’ve got to go out and do something to fix, and to help do our part to heal a broken world. It’s really ingrained in who I am, and certainly how I’ve led the county and how we’re going to lead the state,” he said, mentioning the Jewish imperative to repair the world.
Meyer worked on then-Delaware Sen. Joe Biden’s first presidential campaign in 1988. He praised the current president as possessing “a Jewish soul somewhere in there” and noted that he attended junior high with Biden’s sons.
In addition to his opposition to the anti-Israel BDS movement, Meyer advocated for more collaboration between Jerusalem and Dover.
He emphasized that “Israel is going through a really challenging time right now, and we have to do what we can to support what is one of America’s strongest allies in the world.”
