Pete du Pont

Pierre Samuel "Pete" du Pont IV (born January 22, 1935) is an American businessman, lawyer and politician from Rockland, in New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. He was the United States Representative for Delaware from 1971 to 1977 and the 68th governor of Delaware from 1977 to 1985. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Pete du Pont
68th Governor of Delaware
In office January 18, 1977 – January 15, 1985
Lieutenant	James D. McGinnis Mike Castle
Preceded by	Sherman W. Tribbitt
Succeeded by	Mike Castle
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Delaware's At-large district
In office January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1977
Preceded by	William Roth
Succeeded by	Thomas B. Evans Jr.
Member of the Delaware House of Representatives from the 12th district
In office January 7, 1969 – January 3, 1971
Preceded by	David S. Benson
Succeeded by	William T. Poulterer III
Personal details
Born	Pierre Samuel du Pont IV (1935-01-22) January 22, 1935 Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Elise Ravenel Wood
Children	4, including Ben
Relatives	du Pont family
Residence	Wilmington, Delaware North Haven, Maine
Education	Princeton University (BSE) Harvard University (LLB)

Early life and family

See also: Du Pont family

A member of the Du Pont family, du Pont was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the son of Pierre S. du Pont III and Jane Holcomb du Pont, and great nephew of Pierre S. du Pont, the developer of Longwood Gardens. After education at Phillips Exeter Academy, Princeton University, and Harvard Law School, he served in the U.S. Naval Reserve (Seabees) from 1957 until 1960. He is married to Elise Ravenel Wood and has four children, Elise, Pierre V, Ben, and Eleuthère.

Professional and political career

From 1963 until 1970 du Pont was employed by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. In 1968 he was elected to the 1969–70 session of the Delaware House of Representatives. He seriously considered a bid for a United States Senate seat in 1972 (eventually won by Democrat Joe Biden), but realized he faced a primary election against former U.S. Representative Harry G. Haskell, Jr. He bowed to the desire of Republican leaders, including President Richard Nixon, to have a reluctant incumbent U.S. Senator J. Caleb Boggs seek a third term.

U.S. House of Representatives

Du Pont as a U.S. Representative

In 1970 du Pont was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Democrat John D. Daniello, a New Castle County Councilman and labor leader. He won election to the U.S. House of Representatives two more times, defeating Democrats Norma Handloff in 1972 and University of Delaware professor James R. Soles in 1974. In Congress, du Pont supported an attempt to limit presidential authority through the War Powers Act of 1973, but was one of the last to remain loyal to U.S. President Richard M. Nixon during the impeachment process.

Governor of Delaware

Du Pont did not seek another term in the U.S. House of Representatives, having been elected Governor of Delaware in 1976, defeating incumbent Democratic Governor Sherman W. Tribbitt. He was elected to a second term as governor in 1980, defeating Democratic State House leader William J. Gordy, and served two terms from January 18, 1977 until January 15, 1985.

Governor du Pont IV with Adjutant General of Delaware National Guard

Du Pont's two terms as governor were the major divide in the modern history of the state. Following a desperate initial confrontation with the Democratic Delaware General Assembly over the budget, both du Pont and the Delaware General Assembly developed the consensus approach to decision making that remains characteristic of Delaware politics. As a result of this cooperation, du Pont signed into law two income tax reduction measures and a constitutional amendment that restrained future tax increases and limited government spending. The Wilmington News Journal praised these policies, saying that du Pont "revived [the] business climate and set the stage for [Delaware's] prosperity." In 1979, he founded the nonprofit "Jobs for Delaware Graduates," an employment counseling and job placement program for high school seniors not bound for college. This program was the model for other programs currently functioning in many states and foreign countries.

In 1981, Du Pont helped establish the credit card industry in Delaware, in a race against South Dakota, which the year before had abolished its usury law limiting the interest rates that banks can charge consumers for credit. At the time, du Pont's cousin Nathan Hayward III advocated that tiny Delaware aspire to become the "financial Luxembourg of America" - a tax haven for corporations, yacht owners and credit card companies permitted to charge unlimited interest.[1] Former Du Pont Chairman Irving Shapiro, a lobbyist for Citigroup, helped Gov. du Pont pass the Financial Center Development Act in 1981 with the cooperation of the leadership of both parties and others in state and local government. Intended to attract two New York state banks that would hire at least 1,000 employees, the law eventually drew more than thirty banks to Delaware, creating 43,000 new finance related jobs and leading the state away from its previous dependence on the chemical industry in general and the Du Pont Company in particular.

Delaware General Assembly (sessions while Governor)
Year	Assembly		Senate Majority	President pro tempore		House Majority	Speaker
1977–1978	129th		Democratic	Richard S. Cordrey		Democratic	Kenneth W. Boulden John P. Ferguson
1979–1980	130th		Democratic	Richard S. Cordrey		Republican	Robert W. Riddagh
1981–1982	131st		Democratic	Richard S. Cordrey		Republican	Charles L. Hebner
1983–1984	132nd		Democratic	Richard S. Cordrey		Democratic	Orlando J. George, Jr.

Presidential aspirations

With his term as governor forced by law to end in 1985, du Pont, as the dominant Delaware politician, was widely expected by many to challenge the incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Biden. But du Pont had little interest in legislative politics and declined to run, preparing instead for a long shot bid for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination in the 1988 election. (His wife, Elise, ran for the U.S. Congressional seat that he had previously held in 1984, but lost to incumbent Democrat Tom Carper.)[2] He declared his intent on September 16, 1986, before anyone else. Biden also sought his party's nomination.

Running in the 1988 Republican presidential primaries, du Pont presented an unconventional program. As described by Celia Cohen in her book, Only in Delaware, du Pont, "wanted to reform Social Security by offering recipients private savings options in exchange for a corresponding reduction in government benefits. He proposed phasing out government subsidies for farmers. He said he would wean welfare clients off their benefits and get them into the workforce, even if government had to provide entry level jobs to get them started. He suggested students be subjected to mandatory, random drug tests with those who flunked losing their drivers [sic] licenses."[3] After finishing next to last in the New Hampshire primary, du Pont left the race.[4]

Later career

In 1984, du Pont served as chairman of the Education Commission of the States, a national organization of educators dedicated to improving all facets of American education. He has also served as chairman of the Hudson Institute from 1985 until 1987 and the National Review Institute from 1994 until 1997.

Presently, du Pont is the chairman of the board for the National Center for Policy Analysis, a think tank based in Dallas, Texas; he is a retired director with the Wilmington, Delaware law firm of Richards, Layton, and Finger, and until May 2014, he wrote the monthly Outside the Box column for the Wall Street Journal.

Electoral history

Public Offices
Office	Type	Location	Began office	Ended office	notes
State Representative	Legislature	Dover	January 14, 1969	January 3, 1971
U.S. Representative	Legislature	Washington	January 3, 1971	January 3, 1973
U.S. Representative	Legislature	Washington	January 3, 1973	January 3, 1975
U.S. Representative	Legislature	Washington	January 3, 1975	January 3, 1977
Governor	Executive	Dover	January 18, 1977	January 20, 1981
Governor	Executive	Dover	January 20, 1981	January 15, 1985

Delaware General Assembly service
Dates	Assembly	Chamber	Majority	Governor	Committees	District
1969–1970	125th	State House	Republican	Russell W. Peterson		New Castle 12th

United States Congressional service
Dates	Congress	Chamber	Majority	President	Committees	Class/District
1971–1973	92nd	U.S. House	Democratic	Richard M. Nixon		at-large
1973–1975	93rd	U.S. House	Democratic	Richard M. Nixon Gerald R. Ford		at-large
1975–1977	94th	U.S. House	Democratic	Gerald R. Ford		at-large

Election results
Year	Office	Election		Subject	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%
1970	U.S. Representative	General		Pierre S. du Pont, IV	Republican	86,125	54%		John D. Daniello	Democratic	71,429	46%
1972	U.S. Representative	General		Pierre S. du Pont, IV	Republican	141,237	63%		Norma Handloft	Democratic	83,230	37%
1974	U.S. Representative	General		Pierre S. du Pont, IV	Republican	93,826	58%		James S. Soles	Democratic	63,490	40%
1976	Governor	General		Pierre S. du Pont, IV	Republican	130,531	57%		Sherman W. Tribbitt	Democratic	97,480	42%
1980	Governor	General		Pierre S. du Pont, IV	Republican	159,004	71%		William J. Gordy	Democratic	64,217	29%

References

1. Banking Haven, by Neil Gilbride, The Washington Post, June 26, 1983.
2. Archived February 27, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
3. Cohen, Celia. Only in Delaware, Politics and Politicians in the First State.
4. "Du Pont drops presidential bid". The Galveston Daily News. Galveston, TX. AP. February 19, 1988. Retrieved October 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.

General

• Boyer, William W. (2000). Governing Delaware. Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware Press. ISBN 1-892142-23-6.
• Hoffecker, Carol E. (2004). Democracy in Delaware. Wilmington, Delaware: Cedar Tree Books. ISBN 1-892142-23-6.
• Martin, Roger A. (1984). History of Delaware Through its Governors. Wilmington, Delaware: McClafferty Press.
• Martin, Roger A. (1995). Memoirs of the Senate. Newark, Delaware: Roger A. Martin.

External links

• Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Delaware's Governors
• Political Graveyard
• OpinionJournal.com: Who we are
• Delaware Historical Society; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655–7161
• University of Delaware; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831–2965

Party political offices
Preceded by Russell W. Peterson	Republican nominee for Governor of Delaware 1976, 1980	Succeeded by Mike Castle
Political offices
Preceded by Sherman W. Tribbitt	Governor of Delaware 1977–1985	Succeeded by Mike Castle
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by William V. Roth, Jr.	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Delaware's at-large congressional district 1971–1977	Succeeded by Thomas B. Evans, Jr.