Delaware County Executive Calls for Federal Investigation into Lt. Gov.’s Campaign Finances

Delaware’s Democratic gubernatorial race has taken a dramatic turn as New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer is calling for a federal investigation into the campaign finances of Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, his chief rival for the nomination.

A forensic review commissioned by the state Department of Elections revealed significant improprieties in Hall-Long’s campaign finances, including payments totaling $33,000 more than what she claimed to have loaned to her campaign. The review also found that Hall-Long’s husband, Dana Long, who served as her campaign treasurer, wrote multiple checks to himself and falsely reported them as being made to someone else.

Meyer, in a press conference, condemned Hall-Long’s actions as “near-decade long illegal conduct” and emphasized the importance of trust in elected officials. He accused Hall-Long of trying to cover up her illegal activities and criticized her for requesting that the report detailing the findings be kept confidential.

The fraud examiner who conducted the review, Jeffrey Lampinski, determined that Dana Long had written over 100 checks totaling nearly $300,000 from his wife’s campaign committee account to himself or to cash, which should have been reported as campaign expenditures. However, the majority of these checks were never reported in finance reports, and some were falsely reported as being made to someone else.

Hall-Long’s campaign released a statement dismissing Meyer’s allegations as unjustified and described his press conference as a “desperate political attack.” Hall-Long maintained that she has cooperated with the Department of Elections and will continue to do so.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware declined to comment on Meyer’s call for a federal investigation, while Hall-Long’s campaign has been under scrutiny since September when discrepancies in finance reports led to the resignations of key campaign staff.

Despite submitting amended campaign finance reports in November, Hall-Long has still not come into compliance with state campaign finance laws, according to election officials. The situation remains tense as Meyer pushes for further investigation into Hall-Long’s campaign finances.