David G. Lawson (born October 29, 1946) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Delaware Senate, where he has represented the 15th District since 2011.[1]
Lawson enlisted in the United States Air Force and completed a tour of duty in Vietnam before being honorably discharged in 1969. After his retirement from the Air Force, Lawson settled in Harrington, Delaware, where he served as a volunteer with the Harrington Fire Company. He began a career in law enforcement with the Milford Police Department where he worked as a policeman until transferring to the Delaware State Police in 1973. He retired in 1992 and served as a Delaware State Police Range Instructor and as the Lieutenant of the Special Operations Response Team. Lawson attended Glendale Community College, Delaware Technical Community College, and the Delaware State Police Academy.[4]
Lawson was rebuked by Senate President pro temporeDavid McBride in April 2017 after Lawson called it "despicable" to allow two Muslims to read from the Quran for the daily invocation.[5] Muslim leaders and others in Delaware condemned Lawson's comments and described them as Islamophobic.[5][6][7]
Elections
In 2016, Lawson was unopposed for the Republican primary and won the general election unopposed with 15,036 votes.[8]
In 2012, Lawson was unopposed for the Republican primary and won the three-way general election with 9,547 votes (50.6%) against Democratic nominee Kathleen Cooke and Independent candidate Catherine Samardza.[9]
In 2010, Lawson was unopposed for the Republican primary and challenged incumbent Democratic Senator Nancy W. Cook in the general election, winning with 8,370 votes (52.3%).[10]
