Embattled Delaware state auditor Kathy McGuiness, who is awaiting sentencing on criminal charges, was defeated by political newcomer Lydia York in a Democrat primary contest Tuesday.
York is an attorney who was endorsed by the state Democratic Party, and will now face Republican Janice Lorrah, also a political newcomer, in November. York was one of three Delaware Democrat presidential electors in 2016, and had both outraised and outspent McGuiness in the campaign.
McGuiness is the first statewide elected official in Delaware to be convicted on criminal charges while in office, which stem from the hiring of McGuiness' daughter in her office. A jury convicted the auditor in July of official misconduct, conflict of interest and noncompliance with procurement rules, all misdemeanors, but acquitted her on felony charges of theft and witness intimidation. The trial judge later tossed the procurement conviction.
McGuiness rejected repeated calls from several elected Democrats and party officials to step aside, both after she was indicted last October and again after she was convicted. A state Senate resolution to have her booted from office fizzled when House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, a longtime ally of McGuiness, refused to go along.
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