John Charles Carney Jr. (born May 20, 1956) is an American politician serving as the 74th governor of Delaware since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Carney served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2017 and as the 24th lieutenant governor of Delaware from 2001 to 2009. He also served as Delaware's secretary of finance from 1996 to 2000. He first unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 2008, losing to Jack Markell. He ran for governor again in 2016 and won, succeeding Markell, who was term-limited. He was reelected in 2020, defeating Republican Julianne Murray with 59.5% of the vote. Early life Carney was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and raised in Claymont, the second of nine children of Ann Marie (née Buckley) and John Charles "Jack" Carney (1925-2014). Both his parents were educators. His great-grandparents immigrated from Ireland. Carney was quarterback of the 1973 state championship St. Mark's High School football team, and earned All-Ivy League and Most Valuable Player honors in football at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1978. At Dartmouth, he joined the local Beta Alpha Omega fraternity. He later coached freshman football at the University of Delaware while earning his master's degree in public administration. Early political career Carney has served as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of New Castle County and as Secretary of Finance and Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Tom Carper. Lieutenant governor of Delaware Carney was elected lieutenant governor of Delaware in 2000 and served from January 16, 2001 until January 20, 2009. As lieutenant governor, he presided over the Delaware State Senate and chaired the Board of Pardons. He also chaired the Delaware Health Care Commission, the Interagency Council on Adult Literacy, the Criminal Justice Council, the Center for Education Technology, and the Livable Delaware Advisory Council. In 2002 he launched the education initiative "Models of Excellence in Education" to identify practices in schools that have raised student achievement. Carney was also selected by other lieutenant governors to chair the National Lieutenant Governors Association from July 2004 to July 2005. Carney has long been an advocate for wellness issues in Delaware, sponsoring "BeHealthy Delaware" and "The Lt. Governor's Challenge" to encourage Delawareans to be more active and address the state's high rate of chronic disease. He fought for Delaware's public smoking ban to improve health, cut cancer rates, and discourage teens from starting to smoke.