DOVER, Del. — The Republican presidential primaries in Delaware are over before they even begin.
State lawmakers on Tuesday suspended rules in the House and Senate to quickly pass legislation that would change Delaware election law and allow the scheduled April 2 primary to be called off. Democratic Gov. John Carney quickly added his signature.
The passage of the legislation was prompted by former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s decision to suspend her campaign. Haley withdrew from the Delaware primary last Thursday, leaving Donald Trump as the sole candidate.
However, lawmakers had to pass a bill to recognize Haley’s withdrawal as the deadline to do so had passed. Under existing law, there is only one week between the filing deadline and the withdrawal deadline. This year, the deadline for submitting applications for the presidential primaries was February 2, and the deadline for withdrawal was February 9.
State Elections Commissioner Anthony Albence said the rule worked better when Delaware’s presidential primary was held in early February, but that lawmakers moved the 2011 primary from February to April.
“Now that we have a much later primary and the contours of the campaigns have changed a lot, we find ourselves in a situation like this where there is essentially no competition,” he told lawmakers.
The Democratic presidential primaries in Delaware had already been called off, as President Joe Biden was the only candidate to file.
State elections officials estimate that canceling the Republican primary will save taxpayers at least $1.5 million.