From 1963 until 1970 du Pont was employed by
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. In 1968, he was elected unopposed to the 12th district seat in the
Delaware House of Representatives, which he held until 1971. He seriously considered a bid for a
United States Senate seat in 1972 (eventually won by Democrat
Joe Biden), and initially faced a likely primary election against former U.S. Representative
Harry G. Haskell Jr. He then bowed out in accordance with the wish of Republican leaders, including President
Richard Nixon, to have a reluctant incumbent U.S. Senator
J. Caleb Boggs seek a third term.
U.S. House of Representatives In 1970 du Pont was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Democrat John D. Daniello, a New Castle County Councilman and labor leader. He won election to the U.S. House of Representatives two more times, defeating Democrats Norma Handloff in 1972 and
University of Delaware professor James R. Soles in 1974. In Congress, du Pont supported an attempt to limit presidential authority through the
War Powers Act of 1973, but was one of the last to remain loyal to
U.S. President Richard M. Nixon during the
impeachment process.
Governor of Delaware Du Pont did not seek another term in the
U.S. House of Representatives and instead ran for
Governor of Delaware in 1976, defeating incumbent Democratic Governor
Sherman W. Tribbitt by 33,051 votes. He was re-elected to a second term as governor in 1980, defeating Democratic State House leader William J. Gordy by 94,787 votes, and served from January 18, 1977, until January 15, 1985. At the time, du Pont's cousin Nathan Hayward III advocated that tiny Delaware aspire to become the "financial
Luxembourg of America" – a tax haven for corporations, yacht owners, and credit card companies permitted to charge unlimited interest. Former Du Pont Chairman
Irving S. Shapiro, then a lobbyist for
Citicorp, helped Gov. du Pont pass the Financial Center Development Act in 1981 with the cooperation of the leadership of both parties and others in state and local government. Intended to attract two New York state banks that would hire at least 1,000 employees, the law eventually drew more than thirty banks to Delaware, creating 43,000 new finance-related jobs and leading the state away from its previous dependence on the chemical industry in general and the
Du Pont Company in particular.
Presidential aspirations With his second and final term as governor expiring in 1985, He declared his intent on September 16, 1986, before anyone else. Biden also sought his party's nomination but dropped out of the race after a plagiarism scandal. Running in the
1988 Republican presidential primaries, du Pont presented an unconventional program. As described by Celia Cohen in her book,
Only in Delaware, du Pont "wanted to reform
Social Security by offering recipients private savings options in exchange for a corresponding reduction in government benefits. He proposed phasing out government subsidies for farmers. He said he would wean welfare clients off their benefits and get them into the workforce, even if government had to provide entry-level jobs to get them started. He suggested students be subjected to mandatory, random drug tests with those who flunked losing their drivers licenses." After finishing next to last in the
New Hampshire primary, du Pont exited the race.
Later career In 1984, du Pont served as chairman of the
Education Commission of the States, a national organization of educators dedicated to improving all facets of American education. He also served as chairman of the
Hudson Institute from 1985 until 1987 and the
National Review Institute from 1994 until 1997. Du Pont was the chairman of the board for the
National Center for Policy Analysis, a think tank based in
Dallas, Texas; he was a retired director with the
Wilmington, Delaware law firm of Richards, Layton, and Finger, and until May 2014, he wrote the monthly
Outside the Box column for the
Wall Street Journal. ==Death==