Williams first ran to represent the 10th district in 1994 after defeating Cliff Werline in the Democratic primary by 965 to 627 votes.[2] In the general election, he lost to incumbentRepublicanJane Maroney by 29% to 71%.[3] In 1996, Williams ran in the Democratic primary for the election for Delaware's congressional district, defeating Ernest Ercole.[4] He was defeated by two-term incumbent Republican Mike Castle in the November general election by 70% to 27%. He lost to Castle a second time in the 1998 general election.[5]
In 2004, Williams ran for 10th district representative, but lost to incumbent Republican Robert Valihura, who received 57% of the vote.[6] He rematched Valihura in the 2008 general election and narrowly won (51% to 49%) in a major upset, aided by an increased number of registered Democrats and a higher Democratic turnout owing to the concurrent U.S. presidential election.[7] Williams ran for reelection in 2010, beating challengers in both the Democratic primary and general election.[8][9] Williams won reelection in 2012 but was defeated in the Democratic primary in 2014 and again in 2016 by Sean Matthews.[10][11]
Williams unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Delaware state auditor in 2018, losing the Democratic primary after earning 23% of the vote.[12]
In 2024, Williams ran for his old House in the 10th district in a three-way race, losing with 24% of the vote.[13][14]
^"1998 General Election Results". Office of the State Election Commissioner. Delaware Department of Elections. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
^"2004 General Election Results". Office of the State Election Commissioner. Delaware Department of Elections. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
