Elon Musk’s sign is placed in the bushes of the federal courthouse as the court over his lawsuit against OpenAI is underway in Oakland, California, April 30, 2026.
Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images
Progressive Democrats in Delaware are backing key opponents of six incumbent Democratic state legislators who have pushed changes to the state’s corporate laws that benefit executives and billionaires, including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, who are facing shareholder lawsuits in the state.
The Delaware Working Families Party exclusively told CNBC that it is supporting six Democratic candidates in the primary against Democratic incumbents who support SB21. The bill, expected to become law in 2025, was dubbed the “billionaire bill” by opponents. The law changed the way companies use independent directors and other officials to ensure that deals they make pass through court proceedings, and limited the records shareholders can obtain from companies when investigating possible wrongdoing.
Before the bill became law, many institutional investors, legal scholars, and shareholder lawyers opposed it, saying it would harm minority shareholders and allow boards and management teams to make decisions based on their own interests rather than the broader investor base.
Musk’s record $56 billion pay package has been moved after being legally stuck in Delaware Tesla’s It was incorporated outside the state during the conflict. Many other companies were considering similar moves, surprising the state’s legislature, as Delaware has long been considered a haven for business despite being a heavily Democratic state.
The Working Families Party, which is prominent in New York politics and has expanded to other states, said the endorsement is part of an effort to move Delaware “in a more working-class direction.”
“We want people to know the impact this bill has had and will have in negatively impacting corporate accountability and dismantling a federal agency that saves millions of lives overseas and essentially handing Elon Musk $55 billion to the process of laying off thousands of Delawareans here at home,” Karl Stromberg, Delaware state director for the Working Families Party, told CNBC.
Last year, Musk led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a White House effort to cut spending that disrupted many government agencies and laid off large numbers of federal workers.
As CNBC previously reported, a Delaware corporation representing Musk was involved in drafting the bill.
Specifically, WFP is endorsing four state House candidates and two state Senate candidates. All are running in primaries against incumbent Democrats.
He supports Shane Darby, who is running against MP Nnamdi Chukwocha. Ray Krantz is running against Congresswoman Debra Heffernan. Pamela Salaam runs against Congressman Frank Cook. Will Imbrey-Moore, senator over Kim Williams. Adriana Boehm defeated Sen. Dan Kruse, and Shea Frisbee took on Sen. Ray Seigfried.
Musk’s pay package was ultimately reinstated by the Delaware Supreme Court. However, the state Supreme Court’s decision did not rely on SB21.
Delaware Democratic lawmakers who supported the corporate law reform, including Gov. Matt Meyer, insisted they were not changing the law to compensate Mr. Musk.
“The law has changed because when I took office as governor, we needed to make sure that our jurisprudence, our corporate law, was predictable, clear and fair,” Meyer told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last year.
Meyer signed the bill after it passed unanimously in the state Senate and passed the House 32-7.
Delaware’s billionaire-friendly approach is different than what California voters will consider on their November ballots. California’s Millionaire Tax Act would impose a one-time tax of 5% on the total assets of California taxpayers with a net worth of $1 billion or more. Unlike Delaware, which targets corporate addresses, California’s proposal would target individual residences.
—CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this article.
