Lisa Blunt Rochester is no stranger to making history. Eight years ago, she became the first Black person and first woman elected to Congress from Delaware, as reported by the 19th. Now, she’s poised to do it again with her campaign to become the first Black woman to represent Delaware in the Senate.
The wind is at Blunt Rochester’s back, with current polls showing her leading her Republican opponent by 20 points in a state that has consistently elected Democrats to the Senate since 2000. Blunt Rochester has also scored key endorsements from President Joe Biden and the current incumbent, Sen. Tom Carper, whom she worked for as a constituent relations caseworker and is retiring.
But as a Black woman with the weight of history on her shoulders, she’s taking nothing for granted. In an interview with the 19th, she said, “I still, as a Black woman, can look at how much a donor gives me and how much they give my white counterpart and see a disparity. I still deal with the issues of people’s expectations, and that’s good expectations and bad expectations,” she continued “I also think that there’s a level for me of responsibility. I care about this pipeline. Maybe other folks don’t have to think that way, but I do.”
Only three Black women have served in the U.S. Senate in its 235-year history. The first was Carol Moseley Braun, elected in 1992 to represent Illinois. The second was Vice President Kamala Harris, who was elected to represent California in 2016. The third is Laphonza Butler, who currently represents California and was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to finish the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s term. Butler isn’t running to keep her seat.
If elected, Blunt Rochester and fellow Senate hopeful Prince George County, Maryland, Executive Angela Alsobrooks would become the first Black women senators to serve together. But while Blunt Rochester is aware of the historical significance of her campaign, that’s not her focus. In an ABC interview, she said, “I don’t really think about the history so much because, you know, my intention is to make a difference and to have an impact on people’s lives,” she added, “and should there be a history making moment, that’s great.”
Before deciding to run for Congress in 2016, Blunt Rochester was a recently-widowed 54 year old with no experience running for office. She said she was only able to afford to run because of the money she received from her late husband’s life insurance policy, but she overcame those odds to win her House seat. In an interview with ABC, she explained how her unique biography could serve both as an inspiration to others and as a roadmap of issues she wants to address:
“I think about the little girls, I think about those women who have been widowed or who are over 50,” she said. “For me to be able to represent and bring those lived experiences, the professional experiences, the policy issues. I mean, we know that Black women die from childbirth more than their white counterparts [and] have 43% more student loan debt than our white counterparts.”
Blunt Rochester also wants to tackle the concerns of all Delaware residents, including protecting healthcare access and the economy. In fact, she cites both of those issues as her motivation for wanting to run for Congress. Despite the country’s deep political polarization, Blunt Rochester believes in working across the aisle to get things done.
On November 5th, she could very well become Delaware’s first Black woman senator—but she doesn’t want to be the last. “I feel a deep responsibility to bridge the gap and build a pipeline to other women and underrepresented groups of people,” Blunt Rochester told the 19th. “For me, it’s about providing tangible, meaningful support to the next generation of leaders because it’s not enough to be a ‘first,’ it’s about giving back.”
