Ken Simpler

Simpler attended high school at St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in political economy at Princeton University.^[3] While in college, he was charged in an incident where 45 students were sent to the Princeton infirmary or local hospital for alcohol-induced medical problems, including one student who was in a coma for 24 hours. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail for his role in hosting parties where alcohol was served to minors.^[4]

Simpler earned a Master of Business Administration and a J.D. from the University of Chicago. He was owner and chief financial officer of Seaboard Hotels and managing director at Citadel LLC. He worked as a corporate attorney at Kirkland & Ellis and has served on the board of directors of Draper Holdings, the parent company of WBOC and Fox 21.^[3]

While serving as Delaware State Treasurer, Simpler enrolled at the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy & Administration at the University of Delaware to pursue a Master of Public Administration. After leaving office, he completed the degree in February 2020.^[5]

Simpler was elected Delaware State Treasurer on November 4, 2014, and took office on January 6, 2015.^[6] In the 2018 elections, he was defeated in his reelection campaign by Democrat Colleen Davis.^[7] His defeat was one of several losses for prominent Republicans in Delaware in 2018^[7][8] and to date makes him as the last Republican to serve statewide.