WASHINGTON – Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del. ), the sole member of the Delaware House, is planning to run for the open Senate seat in Delaware this month, according to an adviser.
Blunt Rochester, her longtime mentor and friend of Sen. Tom Carper, is widely regarded as the frontrunner to fill his seat. Last month, he announced that he wouldn’t seek reelection following four terms in Senate. He announced his retirement and named Blunt as the candidate he would most like to see succeed him. Blunt Rochester told NBC News she was “interested in” the seat.
Blunt Rochester, in an interview conducted late in May, said: “I usually go through a three-step process. I think, I pray, and I then plan.”
Blunt Rochester was the first Black woman to represent Delaware at the United States Congress in 2016 when she won a House seat. She would become the third Black woman in history to serve as a senator if she were elected.
Politico was first to inform that Blunt Rochester will launch her Senate campaign in June.
Delaware, a Democratic stronghold, has not elected a Republican statewide since 2018. Blunt Rochester is a member the Congressional Progressive Caucus and has a slightly lefter lean than Carper. She is a longtime supporter of Joe Biden who was also senator for the state.
She is a co-chair for Biden’s reelection campaign and has stated that she hopes to get Biden’s endorsement when she runs for a Senate seat.
Blunt Rochester has already been embraced by Democratic leaders, even though she is yet to announce her candidacy. A spokesperson for Schumer stated that Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called Rochester soon after Carper announced his candidacy to express “his belief” that Rochester “could be a very good senator”. He also expressed “his excitement to sit down with her shortly.”
Blunt Rochester was previously an intern for Carper, and he served as the state Labor Secretary when he became governor of Delaware. Carper announced his retirement and said that it was now time for Blunt to take over.
I spoke to her this morning. “You’ve waited patiently for me to move out of your way. I will do so.” I hope that you will run and I also hope that you’ll allow me to support you on this mission. She said “Yes, you can support me.”
