Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester is running for the U.S. Senate.
She announced her Senate bid in a video released Wednesday morning. Blunt Rochester seeks to replace Senator Tom Carper, who announced his retirement last month.
She was first elected to the U.S House in 2016, replacing now-Governor John Carney. It marked the first time Delaware sent a woman or person of color to Congress. She won reelection in 2018, 2020, and 2022.
Carper endorsed Blunt-Rochester as a potential candidate. Her public service began as an intern and then as a caseworker for then-Congressman Carper, helping people with their Social Security benefits, disability insurance claims, IRS disputes, and housing needs.
Carper says in a statement that Blunt-Rochester is guided by her deep faith, and says she is the embodiment of the Golden Rule — to treat others as we would want to be treated.
“Today, Lisa serves on five subcommittees of the highly sought-after House Energy and Commerce Committee. She is admired by Democrats and Republicans alike for her boundless energy and her ability to build bipartisan coalitions and get things done on issues as diverse as climate change, health care, and workforce development... She can be tough when she needs to be, but she is one of the most caring people I have ever known and worked with."
Carper adds he thinks she is "just the kind of leader that we’ll need in the U.S. Senate in the days ahead, and she will make us proud. Indeed, she already has!”
Blunt Rochester has held Delaware’s lone U.S House seat since winning that seat in 2016 - and becoming the first woman and person of color from Delaware to serve in Congress. She most recently won reelection in 2022 defeating Republican Lee Murphy.
She is also currently serving as a co-chair of President Biden’s re-election campaign.
Blunt-Rochester launches her campaign promising to continue her work to create good jobs and access to opportunity, protect seniors, and secure what she says are fundamental freedoms – from reproductive freedom to voting rights.
“I’m proud of our efforts to get resources to Delaware for our roads, our bridges, our ports, and especially to make sure we have clean drinking water and clean air," Blunt-Rochester says, "We have air quality monitoring legislation that is part of the major bills that have come about. And that is already making a difference in communities.”
Blunt-Rochester says she’s running to do more for Delaware.
“As I began thinking about this process, I thought about, ‘how can I serve Delaware more? How can I help deliver on the promises of our democracy in an even greater way?’" she says. "And I believe the Senate is a place where I will be able to continue the work on the important things that we started.”
She touts her support of the Inflation Reduction Act, which helped lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, the Chips and Science Act which supports supply chains, and the Safer Communities Act which included funding for Community-Based Violence Intervention and youth opportunities.
Blunt Rochester’s Senate bid leaves Delaware’s U.S.House seat open. No one has announced a run yet, but Delaware State Housing Authority director Eugene Young has publicly expressed interest, while State Senator Sarah McBride’s name has also been mentioned as a possibility.
“You can imagine, it being Delaware, I know all of them and have either served with them, or encouraged them to run or run with them," Blunt-Rochester says. "And so I’m going to let the voters make the decision who will be on the ticket.”
The last time the House seat opened, the race drew six candidates including Blunt-Rochester, who won with almost 44% of the vote.
