Ray Seigfried

Raymond J. Seigfried (born August 23, 1950) is an American politician. He is a Democratic member of the Delaware Senate, representing district 5 since 2025. He previously represented district 7 in the Delaware House of Representatives from 2018 to 2020.^[1]

Ray Seigfried
Member of the Delaware Senate from the 5th district
Incumbent
Assumed office February 16, 2025
Preceded by	Kyle Evans Gay
Member of the Delaware House of Representatives from the 7th district
In office November 7, 2018 – November 4, 2020
Preceded by	Bryon Short
Succeeded by	Larry Lambert
Personal details
Born	(1950-08-23) August 23, 1950 (age 75)
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Residence(s)	Arden, Delaware
Website	Official website

Seigfried is a professor of healthcare policy and worked as a senior vice president for Christiana Care for over 25 years.^[2][3]

Electoral History

In 2018, Seigfried topped four other Democrats in the primary election to replace retiring Democrat Bryon Short, winning 762 votes (28.7%) in the five-way race.^[4] He won the general election with 5,943 votes (62.9%) against Republican nominee Eric Braunstein and Libertarian nominee Scott Gesty.^[5] Seigfried lived on the same street as Braunstein.^[6]

In 2020, Seigfried was defeated in the Democratic primary in a rematch with the 2018 primary runner-up, progressive Larry Lambert, by a 59%-41% margin.^[7]

In 2025, Seigfried was nominated as the Democratic candidate for the special election in Senate District 5, in anticipation of the resignation of its current Senator, Kyle Evans Gay, who was elected Lieutenant Governor the previous November, defeating Shay Frisby 23-20 with 1 abstention. He faced Brent Burdge, who previously ran unsuccessfully for the House District 10 in 2022 and 2024, which mostly overlaps with Senate District 5.^[8] On the February 15th special election he defeated Burdge. Seigfried officially took office on February 16, 2025, and he was sworn in on March 11, 2025.^[9]

Legislation

In 2025, Seigfried sponsored legislation to create a special open enrollment period for Medicare supplement enrollees.^[10]

Also in 2025, Seigfried Co-Sponsored Senate Bill 21 ^[11] which amended Delaware's corporate law. Critics say this bill is unduly favorable to the wealthy and also a "Billionaire's Bill" ^[12] "The bill makes it hard for investors to sue over certain transactions involving controlling shareholders, such as buying a controlling shareholder's business, if the deal follows certain steps. It also applies to deals with board members and executives, but will not impact existing rules for a takeover of the company by the controlling shareholder." "The bill also makes it harder to challenge whether a director is independent. It defines "controlling shareholder" and limits records available to shareholders who want to investigate a deal for conflicts." ^[13]