Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester launches 2024 Senate bid
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Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester. Photo: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) on Wednesday formally announced her run to succeed retiring Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) in 2024.
Why it matters: The state's lone House member is the heavy favorite to succeed Carper and become the state's first Black or female senator, as well its first new senator since Joe Biden became vice president in 2009.
Driving the news: "I'm running to represent Delaware in the United States Senate," Blunt Rochester says in a video shared with Axios, filmed at her grandmother's church, Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia.
- In the video the four-term Democrat discusses her late husband Charles' death in 2014, her subsequent decision to run for Congress and her experience during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
- "People ask me if January sixth 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 says.
The big picture: Blunt Rochester would be one of just a handful of Black senators.
- The chamber has just three Black members at present: Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).
- There have also been no Black women in the Senate since now-Vice President Kamala Harris left in 2021. Several, including Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, are running in 2024.
The details: Blunt Rochester's campaign will focus on jobs, seniors, abortion and voting rights, according to a press release from her campaign.
- It also cites her work in Congress around agriculture, community safety and environmental protection.
- A former aide to Carper, Blunt Rochester served in several state government roles before running for Congress in 2016.
State of play: Blunt Rochester is supported by Carper, who announced his retirement last month, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who told her she would make a "really good senator," according to his office.
- If nominated, she would be easily favored to win the general election in a heavily blue state whose favorite son will be at the top of the Democratic ticket.
- The contest stands in stark contrast to states like California and Maryland, where the retirements of longtime Democratic senators resulted in crowded fields of ambitious would-be successors.
What we're watching: Rochester may not be the only Delawarean vying to make history in 2024.
- High-profile state Sen. Sarah McBride is reportedly considering a bid for Rochester's seat. She would be the first openly transgender member of Congress if elected.
