Lisa Blunt Rochester is currently in her fourth term as Delaware's lone representative in U.S. Congress, a role to which she was first elected in 2017. She serves as an Assistant Whip for House leadership and sits on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has broad jurisdiction over healthcare, the environment, commerce and trade, energy policy, manufacturing and consumer protections. She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Blunt Rochester was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Wilmington. She attended Padua Academy for high school and has a master's degree in urban affairs and public policy from the University of Delaware. Blunt Rochester first ran for Congress two years after the sudden loss of her husband. She has two children.
Her political career began in the late 1980s when she interned for current Sen. Tom Carper when he was the state's representative in Congress. In the past, Blunt Rochester has served on cabinets for Govs. Carper and Minner and on the House Committee on Agriculture. Her campaign for U.S. Senate is focused on:
- Protecting reproductive rights.
- Voting rights.
- Creating jobs.
