Ernesto B. Lopez (born November 16, 1976) is an American politician and a former

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Delaware Senate The Delaware Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occurs, at whi ...

, where he had represented the 6th District from 2012 to 2023. He was the first

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

elected to the Delaware Senate. Born in

Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

, Lopez moved to

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

as a child with his parents. After attending public schools, he earned his BA at

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...

and his

EdD Edd, or EDD may refer to: Fictional characters * Dolorous Edd, a character from ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' and its adaptation, ''Game of Thrones'' * Edd (''Ed, Edd n Eddy''), a character of the ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' cartoon * Edd the Duck, a puppet ...

educational leadership Educational leadership is the process of enlisting and guiding the talents and energies of teachers, students, and parents toward achieving common educational aims. This term is often used synonymously with school leadership in the United States an ...

from the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

. After graduating, he worked for the university as an administrator. Lopez ran for

New Castle County Council New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

President in 2004 but lost to

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Paul Clark. In 2012, he ran for and won election to fill the Senate District 6 seat vacated by retiring Republican Liane Sorenson whose district had been

redistricted Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each decennial census. The U.S. Constitution in Ar ...

from

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

to Sussex County. Lopez is the prime sponsor of Riley's Law, allowing for children in Delaware to have access to physician prescribed medicinal cannabis, which is named after one of his constituents. Lopez is also the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 200 which bans

offshore drilling Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the te ...

and seismic testing in Delaware's coastal waters. Lopez has two daughters with his former wife. In 2021, Lopez announced he would not seek reelection.

Electoral history

*In 2004, Lopez ran for New Castle County Council President and won the Republican primary with 7,320 votes (60.97%) against Gary Bowman. However, he lost in the general election to Democrat Paul Clark with 91,836 votes (41.4%). *In 2012, Lopez ran for the Delaware Senate and won the Republican primary with 2,163 votes (54.9%) against Glen Urquhart. He went on to win the three-way general election with 13,603 votes (56.1%) against Democratic nominee Andrew Staton and

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

candidate Gwendolyn Jones. *In 2014, Lopez won the general election with 11,633 votes (63.4%) against Democratic nominee Claire Snyder-Hall. *In 2018, Lopez won the general election with 14,781 votes (52.6%) against Democratic nominee David B. Baker.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisla ...

Campaign site
* 1976 births Living people 21st-century American politicians American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators Republican Party Delaware state senators Gettysburg College alumni People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Politicians from San Juan, Puerto Rico University of Delaware alumni {{Delaware-politician-stub