With the retirement of Tom Carper after over two decades in the U.S. Senate and Delaware’s lone congresswoman leaving her seat to fill Carper’s shoes, the First State had two open federal delegation seats this General Election.
Sen. Chris Coons now becomes Delaware’s senior senator, joined by the newly elected Lisa Blunt Rochester, and their counterpart in the U.S. House will be former State Sen. Sarah McBride.
McBride is the first openly-transgender member of Congress with her historic win Tuesday night, but she has been intentional in keeping her campaign messaging focused on policy and unity.
“We need to lower the temperature in our politics. We need our elected officials to model compassionate, collaborative citizenship where we see one another as neighbors and not as enemies," McBride said following her victory.
McBride says she is happy to be a part of a diverse delegation that “looks like America,” and hopes she can bring some Delaware values to the national stage in an effort to work bipartisanly.
Coons reiterated McBride's sentiments about the new congressional delegation.
"There's going to a significant change in the makeup, the identity, the diversity of the delegation I'm going to be a part of, and I very much look forward to serving with them in the years ahead," Coons said.
Blunt Rochester's victory was also historic — she will now serve as Delaware's first Black senator and first woman senator in Congress.
She and Angela Alsobrooks, Maryland's newest senator, become the fourth and fifth Black women ever to have served in the U.S. Senate — it's also the first time two Black women have served concurrently.
On election night, Carper told Delaware Public Media he is fearful of a divisive country and legislature once the results are finalized, and he believes Democrats and Republicans will need to work together now more than ever.
He feels Blunt Rochester is the right fit to take over his seat, as he has watched her succeed in working across party lines during her time in the U.S. House.
“We're going to need leaders that can stand up and reach across the aisle and say, ‘Ok, the elections are over. Let's figure out how we can work together and get stuff done.’ She is really good at that," Carper said.
The Associated Press has officially determined Republican Donald Trump will return to the White House accompanied by a Republican-controlled Senate, but the fate of the U.S. House has yet to be determined as of Wednesday.
