Lisa Blunt Rochester
Lisa Blunt Rochester | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2025 | |
| United States Senator from Delaware | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Carper |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Delaware's at-large district | |
| In office January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | John Carney |
| Succeeded by | Sarah McBride |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lisa LaTrelle Blunt February 10, 1962 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Ted Blunt (father) |
| Education | Villanova University Fairleigh Dickinson University (BA) University of Delaware (MA) |
| Signature | |
| Website | Senate website |
Lisa LaTrelle Blunt Rochester (née Blunt; born February 10, 1962) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Delaware. From 2017 to 2025, she served as the U.S. representative for Delaware's at-large congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman and first African American to represent Delaware in both chambers of Congress.
Blunt Rochester began her political career working for Tom Carper, first in the House of Representatives, and later as he became governor of Delaware. She was appointed deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services in 1993 and secretary of the Department of Labor in 1998. Blunt Rochester was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016. During the 2020 presidential election, she was one of Joe Biden's campaign co-chairs.
In 2023, Blunt Rochester announced her candidacy to represent Delaware in the United States Senate in the 2024 election and succeed the retiring Carper, who endorsed her in the race. She won the Democratic primary unopposed and defeated Republican nominee Eric Hansen by a landslide in the general election.