Delaware Congresswoman Blunt Rochester announces bid for US Senate
Representative seeks seat of retiring Carper
WILMINGTON — Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., announced the launch of her U.S. Senate campaign ahead of the 2024 election Wednesday.
After six years as Delaware’s lone representative in the U.S. Congress, she will pursue the seat of her mentor and longtime friend, retiring U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, also a Democrat.
“It’s been the greatest honor of my life to represent Delaware, to protect our seniors, our environment, our small businesses and women’s reproductive rights. And we’ve got so much more to do,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester in her announcement video.
In the three-and-a-half-minute message, titled “Bright Hope,” she reminisced about the pivotal points in her life and career that inspired her to represent the First State.
One of those was the passing of her husband, Charles Rochester, following complications from a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2014. She said her spouse always noted, “You gotta get your mind right,” which inspired her to run for her congressional post in 2016.
Rep. Blunt Rochester then spoke about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, during which she made headlines for praying while trapped in the House chamber.
“People ask me if Jan. 6 was my worst day. It was. But it was also one of my proudest moments. Because we walked back in that House chamber, and we completed our work,” she said. “The forces of fear did not win, and democracy prevailed.”
Prior to representing Delaware in Congress, Rep. Blunt Rochester served as the deputy secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services before being appointed secretary of the state Department of Labor in 1998.
Then, in the U.S. House, she led the charge on lowering health care costs for seniors, expanding access to clean water and air, and advancing several workforce initiatives. For example, her “Jobs Agenda,” introduced April 12, ranges from removing barriers for individuals seeking employment to improving the country’s supply chain.
Should she be elected Delaware’s next junior senator, Rep. Blunt Rochester would become the third African American woman to serve in the U.S. Senate in the nation’s history. She would also be the state’s first female U.S. senator and the first Black person from Delaware in the role.
Candidates cannot officially file for office until their parties set their filing fees, with a deadline of July 1, 2024. However, Rep. Blunt Rochester’s announcement makes her the first to publicly declare an intention to seek the vacating Senate seat.
Though Sen. Carper endorsed Rep. Blunt Rochester during his retirement announcement May 22, he deferred when asked if the congresswoman would indeed launch a campaign to succeed him.
“We love Lisa, and I spoke with her this morning,” he stated at the time. “I said, ‘You’ve been patiently waiting for me to get out of the way, and I’m gonna get out of the way. I hope you run, and I hope you’ll let me support you in that mission.’ And she said, ‘Yes, I will let you support me.’”
Following Sen. Carper’s announcement last month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Rep. Blunt Rochester, according to his spokesperson, who stated, “He believes she could be a really good senator,” and he “looks forward to sitting down with her soon.”
