Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester launches bid for Senate seat in Delaware

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester on Wednesday announced a bid to succeed retiring Sen. Tom Carper in Delaware, laying the path for the Democrat to potentially become the third Black woman to ever serve in the Senate.

Blunt Rochester joined the House in 2017 and was the first woman and person of color to represent Delaware in Congress.

Carper, also a Democrat, said in May he would retire after four terms in the Senate and endorsed Blunt Rochester during his retirement announcement. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in May also said he believed Blunt Rochester would make a good senator.

Blunt Rochester, 61, is the first person to announce a bid for the Senate seat and began hiring campaign staff earlier this month, POLITICO previously reported.

In an announcement video released Wednesday, Blunt Rochester touts a focus on protecting seniors, the environment, small businesses and women’s reproductive rights. She also touches on her late husband’s death and her experience during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

“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,” Blunt Rochester says in the video.