Black Women in Politics: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester Poised to Make History in Delaware Senate Race – Essay

Lisa Blunt Rochester is not any stranger to making history. Her, eight years ago became the primary As reported by December 19, a black person and the primary woman elected to Congress from Delaware. Now she’s ready to do it again in her campaign to develop into the primary Black woman to represent Delaware in the Senate.

The wind is blowing at Blunt Rochester’s back, z current polls showing he leads his Republican opponent by 20 points in a state he consistently picks Democrats in the Senate since 2000. Blunt Rochester also gained key endorsements from President Joe Biden and current incumbent Sen. Tom Carper, for whom she worked as an electoral relations specialist and is retiring.

But as a black woman carrying the load of history on her shoulders, she doesn’t take anything as a right. In an interview on the nineteenth she said, “I can still as a black woman see how much donors give to me and how much they give to my white counterpart and I can see the difference. “I’m still dealing with people’s expectations, and those are good expectations and bad expectations,” she continued. “I also think there is a certain level of responsibility for me. I care about this pipeline. Maybe others don’t have to think that way, but I do.”

Only three black women have served in the U.S. Senate in its 235-yr history. The first was Carol Moseley Braun, elected in 1992 to represent Illinois. The second person was Vice President Kamala Harris, elected to represent California in 2016. The third was Laphonza Butler, who currently represents California and was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to finish the term of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein. Butler is not trying to keep his spot.

If elected, Blunt Rochester and fellow Senate candidate, Prince George’s County, Maryland, Executive Angela Alsobrooks, will develop into the primary black female senators to serve together. While Blunt Rochester is aware of the historical significance of her campaign, that will not be her focus. In an interview with ABC” she said, “I don’t really think about history that much because, you know, my intention is to make a difference and impact people’s lives,” she added, “and if the moment comes to make history, that’s great.”

Before deciding to run for Congress in 2016, Blunt Rochester was a recently widowed 54-yr-old who had no experience running for office. She claims that she will be able to only afford to run thanks to the cash she received for her late husband’s life insurance policybut she beat the chances and won a seat in the House of Representatives. In an interview with ABC, she explained how her unique biography can serve each as an inspiration to others and as an motion plan for the problems she wants to address:

“I think about little girls, I think about women who are widowed or who are over 50,” she said. “For me to give you the option to represent and produce these lived experiences, skilled experiences and political issues. I mean, we all know that black women die from childbirth at higher rates than their white counterparts [and] have 43% more student loan debt than our white counterparts.

Blunt Rochester also wants to address the concerns of all Delawareans, including protecting access to health care and the economy. Actually, she quotes each as motivation to run for Congress. Despite the deep political polarization in the country, Blunt Rochester believes that to achieve success, you need to work across the aisle.

On November 5, she could develop into the primary black female senator in the state of Delaware, 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 said on 19. “For me, it’s about providing tangible, meaningful support to the next generation of leaders because it’s not enough to be ‘first’, it’s about to return the favor.”