Lisa Blunt Rochester will serve a fourth term as Delaware’s lone representative in the U.S. House after defeating Republican Lee Murphy in Tuesday’s election.
Blunt Rochester, who became Delaware’s first federal representative of color and first woman in Congress in 2016, was the projected winner as polls closed in Delaware.
The Congresswoman billed herself to voters as a problem solver invested in her community and someone who can find common ground with opponents. Among her legislative priorities are reversing climate change and providing affordable health care. She also campaigned on codifying abortion rights and hailed her role in passing the Inflation Reduction Act, which she says will help Delaware families by lowering prescription drug prices and energy costs.
With a fellow Delawarean in the White House, Blunt Rochester’s profile in Washington D.C. has grown in recent years. She served as a national co-chair of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, and as a co-chair of his vice presidential search committee. She is as an assistant whip for House leadership.
“If we expand our majorities in the House and Senate, we’re going to do a lot, and we need Lisa,” Biden said last month. “And I mean it sincerely: We need Lisa. A lot of her colleagues look to her and look to her judgment. And she can cross the aisle and get some Republicans to move on some of our things.”
The daughter of former Wilmington City Council President Ted Blunt, Blunt Rochester had a long career in public service prior to being elected to Congress. She served as Delaware labor secretary under Gov. Tom Carper and state personnel director under Gov. Ruth Ann Minner. She was also the CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League.
Blunt Rochester grew up in Wilmington and went to Padua Academy. She then earned a bachelors degree in international relations from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a master’s degree in urban affairs and public policy from the University of Delaware. Blunt Rochester lives in Wilmington.
According to the Congressional Record, she has sponsored 71 bills and resolutions during her three terms in the House, many aimed at improving or expanding access to health care, especially for women and minority groups.
The only measure sponsored by Blunt Rochester to become law is a resolution naming a Wilmington post office in honor of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a 19th-century anti-slavery activist and publisher.
Murphy ran on the economy, attempting to draw voters upset with record inflation under Biden. On the campaign trail, he said to cure its inflation issues the U.S. needs to pursue energy independence by reopening the keystone pipeline. A former teacher and coach, he also advocated for school choice and improving the state’s educational system, gun rights and supporting local law enforcement.
This year marked Murphy’s third challenge for Blunt Rochester’s seat. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in 2018 before losing to Blunt Rochester in the general election in 2020.
A poll from the University of Delaware Center for Political Communication in October forecasted a significant defeat. Blunt Rochester’s campaign raised more than $2 million or about nine times as much as Murphy’s.
The Associated Press contributed.
Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.
