By Mike Finney

SMYRNA – Democratic candidate Kyra Hoffner and her Republican opponent Mark Pugh both share a common respect for longtime Sen. Bruce Ennis, who decided to retire after representing the 14^th District since 2007.

Ms. Hoffner and Mr. Pugh – both residents of Leipsic – also shared ambitions of taking over Mr. Ennis’ vacated seat in the Delaware General Assembly during Tuesday’s general election.

When all the votes had finally been tallied late Tuesday night, it was Ms. Hoffner who earned the seat, capturing 8,402 votes (51.84%) to Mr. Pugh’s 7,806 (48.16%).

“I believe I have the skills, the compassion, and the commitment to make a difference,” Ms. Hoffner said, on her election webpage. “I have already spent years of my life volunteering for various causes and I want to use that experience to fight for the residents of Senate District 14.

“I want to open channels of communication in local government so that Delaware citizens know their rights are protected. I want them to understand that they have a voice in the government that impacts their quality of life and future.”

Ms. Hoffner takes over the Senate position for the 14^th District, which stretches from the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to the state capital, and includes Port Penn, Odessa, Townsend, Leipsic and parts of Smyrna, Clayton, Middletown and Dover.

She will now fill the vacated seat of Mr. Ennis, a lifelong resident of Smyrna who has represented his hometown in the Delaware General Assembly for nearly four decades.

He served in the House of Representatives from 1982 until 2007, when he was voted in as Senator.

Mr. Pugh said it has been a busy campaign and he and his team gave it everything they had.

“My team and I have knocked on over 14,000 doors,” he said. “This is what the folks of the 14th (District) have personally told me they want – go to Dover and work for us – not a party, but for us.

“Family, community, and education are the bedrock upon which the pillars of excellence are built. Opportunity, freedom, and prosperity spring from these integral values.”

Ms. Hoffner moved to Delaware from her native Patchogue, New York 20 years ago.

For the past decade, she has been actively working and volunteering in Delaware in a variety of organizations. She is currently a lobbyist with the League of Women Voters, fighting for civil rights, as well as holding the position of Co-Chair of the People Powered Fair Maps Redistricting Team.

Prior to her retirement in 2008, Ms. Hoffner worked as a mortgage originator for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

She said she recognizes that the work starts here, at home in the local community.

Most recently, she has been working to pass a bill of rights for people experiencing homelessness that will be a starting point to recognize housing as a human right.

“We need to organize around people and not just issues. We need to take the time and effort to build relationships that cross class, race, and religion,” Ms. Hoffner said. “Until we recognize housing as a human right, along with quality education, economic security, and health care, we will not end mass homelessness."

Both 14^th District Senate candidates had very different paths to the general election. Ms. Hoffner won a five-way Democratic primary with more than 34% of the vote, while Mr. Pugh did not have a primary opponent, making him the Republican nominee in the district.

Mr. Pugh owns and operates Pugh’s Automotive Services, his third-generation family business in north Dover.

His political experience includes serving on the town council of Leipsic and as mayor of Leipsic. Additionally, Mr. Pugh was formerly appointed Kent County co-chair of the Central Economic Development Strategy Committee by former Gov. Ruth Ann Minner.

Sen. Ennis, a moderate Democrat, won each of his elections as state senator with a comfortable margin: the lowest margin of victory for Sen. Ennis was 59.5-40.5 in 2020.

In the 14th Senate District, registered Democrat voters outnumber registered Republican voters by 6,629.