U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware’s sole congresswoman, entered the 2024 U.S. Senate race Wednesday.
Blunt Rochester, if elected, would become the first Black Delawarean and the first woman to represent The First State in the U.S. Senate – and possibly the third Black woman ever in the country’s history. She would likely lead a new generation of Democratic Delaware leadership with nearly every major state political office up for reelection in 2024.
“There’s a humility to it,” she said of her candidacy. “There’s a humbleness to it, that I have this opportunity. There’s also a responsibility for those who are looking at my journey, whether they are someone over the age of 50 … whether they are a widow, or a mom, or a person of color.”
This announcement by Blunt Rochester has been highly anticipated, following U.S. Sen. Tom Carper’s retirement announcement in late May. The senior senator publicly called on the congresswoman to run – admitting she probably should have done so years ago. An hour after Blunt Rochester’s announcement, Carper formally endorsed her.
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How Blunt Rochester got her start
Blunt Rochester, 61, started her political career by interning in Carper’s congressional office, later serving in his gubernatorial cabinet as labor secretary. She worked as the late Gov. Ruth Ann Minner’s personnel director and was the CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League.
She also comes from a political family: Her father Ted Blunt was a Wilmington City councilman and then president for more than two decades.
Blunt Rochester, like Carper and U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, is a close friend of President Joe Biden. The president, when speaking in Delaware in recent years, has often remarked how he views Blunt Rochester to be a rising star and has compared her oratory skills to that of a preacher. She serves as a co-chair of his reelection campaign.
The congresswoman’s campaign has the slogan of “Bright Hope,” which she said is the name of the church where her grandmother worshiped. In the campaign video, Blunt Rochester spoke of how the death of her husband Charles, who died suddenly in 2014, inspired her to later run for Congress.
“That’s the thing about Bright Hope,” she said in the video. “It can make you do crazy things.”
When she ran for Congress in 2015, Blunt Rochester faced a crowded primary. Now, many Delaware political observers have a difficult time thinking of another Democrat who would run against her. Blunt Rochester has long been viewed as Carper’s heir.
Blunt Rochester said in an interview that she hopes to continue Carper’s “powerful” retail politics, in which he regularly travels up and down Delaware to talk with residents. She also acknowledged that she will be different than the longtime politician.
“All of us, no matter who you are, bring your lived experiences to this job,” she said. “And so I will be bringing to this job some different perspectives as a Black person, as a woman, as a new grandmother.”
The platforms that got Blunt Rochester elected
The congresswoman toggles an interesting dynamic in Washington: She is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the New Democrats Coalition, a centrist group of lawmakers. Blunt Rochester said she has tried to “stay true” to progressive values while also representing the entire state of Delaware.
“I don’t think that they are mutually exclusive, to have those values and believe in a strong economy,” she said. The congresswoman is for the elimination of the filibuster, describing it as an outdated rule.
When asked about legislative achievements, Blunt Rochester pointed to her work on clean air and drinking water legislation. She also cited the Inflation Reduction Act, in which she “championed” lowering the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, as well as writing provisions for community violence intervention in the Safer Communities Act.
Blunt Rochester also noted that she was the first Delaware representative in 120 years to be a part of the House’s agriculture committee, in addition to being the first freshman congresswoman to do so.
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She is just among a handful of at-large U.S. representatives who represent their entire state. She looks at the U.S. Senate as a place to “serve a deeper level,” citing examples of codifying Roe v. Wade, focusing on voting rights and making judicial appointments.
And “being in a place where every other year the bill doesn’t die is going to be a good thing,” she said.
The primary election to fill Blunt Rochester’s seat is highly anticipated. Many are expecting state Sen. Sarah McBride to run. Eugene Young, director of the Delaware State Housing Authority, has declared his interest in the seat.
Blunt Rochester said she would support whoever emerges from a possible primary, but stopped short of saying if she would endorse anyone in particular.
