Jewish Democrats elected governor in Delaware, North Carolina, Craig Goldman elected as third Jewish Republican member of the House

A former public-school math teacher and small-business owner, Meyer is a staunch supporter of Israel, which he has visited three times.

By Menachem Wecker and Izzy Salant, JNS

With the election of Matt Meyer and Josh Stein as governor of Delaware and North Carolina, respectively, on Tuesday, the two join four other Jewish governors: Jared Polis (Colo.), J. B. Pritzker (Ill.), Josh Green (Hawaii) and Josh Shapiro (Pa.), all Democrats.

“It’s great to be at a point where a Jewish governor, even in states with small Jewish populations, is not unusual,” according to Mark Mellman, CEO of an eponymous polling and consulting firm and president of Democratic Majority for Israel.

“The Democratic Party is committed to equal opportunity and pluralism a fact reinforced by the fact that all six of these Jewish governors are Democrats,” Mellman told JNS.

The Associated Press called the Delaware gubernatorial race for Meyer, who defeated Mike Ramone, a member of the Delaware state House.

With 90% of votes counted, Meyer was up 11.8 percentage points, with 274,823 votes, per the AP.

A former public-school math teacher and small-business owner, Meyer is a staunch supporter of Israel, which he has visited three times.

He told Jewish Insider “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.”

Stein, North Carolina’s attorney general, was up nearly 15 percentage points on Republican Mark Robinson, with 2.6 million votes and 83% of votes counted, per the AP, which called the race.

Robinson, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina, came under fire for social-media posts, including calling himself “a black Nazi” and quoting Hitler. Robinson denied having posted the comments.

U.S. President Joe Biden called Meyer and Stein, among others, to congratulate them on their election, per the White House pool report.

Craig Goldman, a Republican member of the Texas state House, defeated Trey Hunt to become the representative of Texas’s 12th Congressional District. Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) currently holds the seat but opted not to seek reelection.

Goldman is the third Jewish GOP member of the U.S. House of Representatives after incumbents Reps. Max Miller (R-Ohio) and David Kustoff (R-Tenn.).

Kustoff defeated Sarah Freeman in the state’s 8th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press. With 79% of votes counted, Kustoff was up 47.5 percentage points, with 235,357 votes, per the AP.

With 88% of votes counted in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, Miller was up more than 15 percentage points with 179,269 votes, per the AP, which called the race.

Goldman was up nearly 30 percentage points, with 192,808 votes and 78% of votes counted, according to the Associated Press, which called the race.

“Welcome to Congress one of my best friends,” wrote Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition. “So proud of you, brother.”

AIPAC, which endorsed Goldman, wrote shortly before 11 p.m. that “so far, 190 AIPAC-backed candidates have won their elections tonight.”

Goldman drew praise from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)—who chairs the House Republican Conference—and Aryeh Lightstone, a former senior adviser to David Friedman, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel.

On his campaign website, Goldman stated that he would stand with Israel, “the only true democracy in the Middle East.”

“The enemies of Israel are dangerous and relentless. The October 2023 slaughter of over 1,400 Israelis, including at least 36 Americans, at the hands of Hamas makes this reality abundantly clear,” he wrote.

“While Israeli hostages remain captive in Gaza, it is critical that Israel is able to defend herself and ultimately is able to achieve its military objective: to dismantle Hamas.”

“There is simply no room for ambivalence or wavering on where the United States stands in this matter,” he added on the site.

“The United States must continue to stand by Israel in its fight against the sheer brutality and inhumanity of Hamas.”

Craig GoldmanelectionsJewishJosh SteinMatt Meyer