Barbara “Barb” Hudson, lifelong Laurel resident and educator, will announce her candidacy for the 40th District Representative seat in the Delaware House of Representatives on Aug. 9.
She will challenge incumbent Republican Clifford "Biff" Lee for the House seat, and although she had not filed by the July 25 deadline, Sussex County Democratic Committee Chair Tom Chapman said she would be among the candidates that the party will appoint to fill general-election vacancies.
"We have a number of seats that are unchallenged, and we have until Sept. 1 to nominate candidates to run," Chapman said.
"Mr. Lee hasn't had a challenger since 1996," said Hudson, a high-school teacher in the Delmar School District and an educator for 15 years.
"I'd been thinking about running for several years, and this seemed like the right year, both politically and personally," she said.
Hudson is a 1973 graduate of Laurel High School who went on to Salisbury University where she obtained her B.A. in History and Secondary Education and the University of Delaware for her Masters in Liberal Studies. She is the granddaughter and niece of two former 40th District Representatives, Reese and Bill Gordy. Hudson and her husband Benny are members of the Laurel Nazarene Church, Laurel Alumni Association, and Delaware Education Association. Her four children (Erin O’Neal, Jamie Parkhurst, Rachel Hill and Joshua Hudson) and six grandchildren all live in the 40th Representative District.
Hudson and Sussex Democratic party officials will file the necessary paperwork with the state attorney general and department of elections within the next few weeks, to make her candidacy official.
The announcement will take place at 10 a.m., at the corner of Carvel and Poplar Streets, in Laurel.
"I think the people ought to have a choice," she said.
For more information, visit www.barbhudson.com.
