Eric Morrison is an American politician serving as a member of the

Delaware House of Representatives The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is ...

from the 27th district.Jacob Took
"Newcomer Morrison elected to state house in District 27"
''

Newark Post The ''Newark Post'' is a local newspaper for the city of Newark, Delaware. It features local news, crime reports, and a section on events at local schools and at the University of Delaware. The ''Newark Post'' was founded in 1910, by Everett C. J ...

'', November 3, 2020. He assumed office in November 2020. A member of the

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

wing of the Democratic Party, Morrison defeated

conservative Democrat In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party with conservative political views, or with views that are conservative compared to the positions taken by other members of the Democratic Party. Traditionally, co ...

Earl Jaques Jr. in the 2020 primary by a 61%-39% margin.

Early life and education

Morrison was born in

Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury () is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, Wicomico County, Maryland, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Shore of Maryland, the state's Eastern Shore region. The population was 33,050 at the 2020 United ...

and raised in

Bridgeville, Delaware Bridgeville is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,048, an increase of 42.6% from the previous decade. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in history from the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

in 1996.

Career

After graduating from college, Morrison worked as a teacher. He later became a human resources director. Morrison won the Democratic primary for the 27th district of

against incumbent Earl Jaques Jr., a Democrat who had voted against

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

and

abstained Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a Voting, vote either does not go to vote (on election day) or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrast ...

on banning conversion therapy for minors in Delaware. During the primary process, Jaques had attacked Morrison for performing in drag at a campaign fundraiser and said that Morrison being gay was "so far off-base for our district, it’s unbelievable." Jaques was forced to apologize to Morrison after his comments were criticized by Democratic leadership.Trudy Ring
"Dragged for Drag, Gay Candidate Wins in Del., Along With Queer Woman"
''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

'', September 17, 2020. Morrison was listed among a "slate of insurgents" aligned with the

wing of the Democratic Party challenging moderate incumbents in Delaware.

Personal life

Morrison is the first openly gay man elected to serve in

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisla ...

, after Senator Karen E. Peterson came out in 2013 while in office. He was one of three

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

candidates to be elected to the Delaware General Assembly in 2020, alongside Marie Pinkney and

Sarah McBride Sarah McBride (born August 9, 1990) is an American activist and politician who has been a Democratic member of the Delaware Senate since January 2021. She was previously the National Press Secretary of the Human Rights Campaign. After winning ...

.Zoë Read
"Delaware General Assembly gains largest LGBTQ representation in history"

WHYY-TV WHYY-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware, United States, serving as the primary PBS member station for the Philadelphia area. It is owned by WHYY, Inc., alongside NPR member station WHYY-FM 90.9. WHYY-TV and ...

, November 4, 2020.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Gay politicians LGBT state legislators in Delaware Democratic Party members of the Delaware House of Representatives Living people Members of the Democratic Socialists of America 21st-century American politicians University of Delaware alumni {{Delaware-politician-stub