John C. Carney, Jr.

Infobox Officeholder
honorific-prefix =
name = John C. Carney,
honorific-suffix = Jr.

---

imagesize =
small

office2 = Lieutenant Governor of Delaware
term_start2 = January 16, 2001
term_end2 =
predecessor2 = Ruth Ann Minner
successor2 =
party = Democratic
birth_date = birth date and age|1956|5|20
birth_place = Wilmington, Delaware
death_date =
death_place =
spouse = Tracey Quillan
residence = Wilmington, Delaware
alma_mater = Dartmouth College
occupation =
profession =
religion = Roman Catholic
website = [http://www.johncarney.org/ www.johncarney.org]

John C. Carney, Jr. (born May 20 1956) is an American politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He is a member of the Democratic Party and is the incumbent Lieutenant Governor of Delaware. He is serving in his second term and was a candidate for Democratic nomination for Governor of Delaware in 2008.

Early life and family

Carney was born in Wilmington, Delaware, son of John C. and Ann Carney. He was quarterback of the 1973 state championship St. Mark's High School football team, and earned All-Ivy League and Most Valuable Player honors in football at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1978. He later coached freshmen football at the University of Delaware, while earning his master's degree in public administration. He and his wife, Tracey, have two children, Sam and Jimmy.

Lt. Governor of Delaware

Carney has served as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of New Castle County and the Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Thomas R. Carper. For several years in the late 1990’s he was the Delaware State Secretary of Finance. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Delaware in 2000, re-elected in 2004 and has served since January 16 2001. As Lieutenant Governor Carney presides over the Delaware State Senate and chairs the Board of Pardons. He is chairman of the Delaware Health Care Commission, the Interagency Council on Adult Literacy, the Criminal Justice Council, the Center for Education Technology, and the Livable Delaware Advisory Council. In 2002, he launched the education initiative "Models of Excellence in Education" to identify practices in schools that have raised student achievement.

Carney was also selected by other Lieutenant Governors as chairman of the National Lieutenant Governors Association from July 2004 to July 2005. Carney sought the Democratic nomination for the office of Governor in 2008, when incumbent Governor Ruth Ann Minner is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. He was widely expected to win the nomination. In an upset Carney lost the primary contest to State Treasurer Jack Markell.

Carney has long been an advocate for wellness issues in Delaware, sponsoring "BeHealthy Delaware" and "The Lt. Governor's Challenge" to encourage Delawareans to be more active and address the State's high rate of chronic diseases. He recently proposed the creation of a health care assistance program to be called "Delaware First Care." Through this system the state of Delaware would guarantee access to primary and preventive care by subsidizing routine screening and medical visits, based on a sliding payment scale depending on household income. [ [http://ltgov.delaware.gov/News/2007/20070523-BeHealthy.shtml BeHealthy Delaware ] ]

2008 Gubernatorial Race

As Lt. Governor, it was only natural that Carney would run to succeed Governor Miner when her term expired. However, State Treasurer Jack Markell also wanted the job and filed to run in the Democratic Primary against Carney, setting up a highly competitive primary race. Since Delaware is a very Democratic state, the primary race was considered by most observers to be the election that would determine the next governor of Delaware. The campaign was very intense and polling showed a very close race right up to the end. Unfortunately for Carney, Markell won the Democratic Primary by a razor thin 1737 vote margin, ending Carney's bid for governor.

enate Speculation

Near the end of the primary race, it was announced that Delaware's Senior Senator, Democrat Joe Biden had been chosen by 2008 Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama to be his running mate. Since Carney lost the gubernatorial primary, he is considered by many to be a top candidate to be appointed to the seat by either Governor Minner or by possible future Governor Markell to fill Biden's senate seat should Biden become Vice President.

Election History

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
-bgcolor=#cccccc!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" | Public Offices
-! Office! Type! Location! Elected! Took Office! Left Office! notes
- Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian
Lt. Governor
Executive
Dover
2000
January 16 2001
January 18 2005|
- Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian
Lt. Governor
Executive
Dover
2004
January 18 2005
January 20 2009|
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
-bgcolor=#cccccc!colspan=13 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
-!Year!Office!Election!!Subject!Party!Votes!%!!Opponent!Party!Votes!%
-
2000
Lt. Governor
General|
Party shading/Democratic |John C. Carney, Jr.
Party shading/Democratic |Democratic
Party shading/Democratic |193,348
Party shading/Democratic |62%|
Party shading/Republican |Dennis J. Rochford
Party shading/Republican |Republican
Party shading/Republican |119,943
Party shading/Republican |38%
-
2004
Lt. Governor
General|
Party shading/Democratic |John C. Carney, Jr.
Party shading/Democratic |Democratic
Party shading/Democratic |218,272
Party shading/Democratic |62%|
Party shading/Republican |James P. Ursomarso
Party shading/Republican |Republican
Party shading/Republican |127,425
Party shading/Republican |36%
-
2008
Governor
Primary|
Party shading/Democratic |Jack A. Markell
Party shading/Democratic |Democratic
Party shading/Democratic |37,849
Party shading/Democratic |51%|
Party shading/Democratic |John C. Carney, Jr.
Party shading/Democratic |Democratic
Party shading/Democratic |36,112
Party shading/Democratic |49%
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Notes

References

* [http://ltgov.delaware.gov/biography.shtml John Carney Biography ]

External links

* [http://www.johncarney.org/ Carney campaign website]

Places with more information

* [http://www.hsd.org/ Historical Society of Delaware] , 505 Market St., Wilmington, Delaware [phone]
* [http://www.lib.udel.edu/ University of Delaware Library] , 181 South College Ave., Newark, Delaware [phone]