Party unites around Blunt Rochester after Carper announces retirement

Tom Carper announced on Monday he will not seek another Senate term, opening up a safe Democratic seat in Delaware next year.

Carper's impending retirement after four terms makes Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) the immediate favorite to succeed him. Carper endorsed Blunt Rochester during his retirement announcement, setting up a potentially easy transition for First State Democrats as Carper steps away from a long history in Delaware politics.

“If there is ever an opportunity to step aside and pass the torch, it’s coming,” Carper said at his announcement in Wilmington, Del.

Carper is a low-key but influential lawmaker who is chair of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee and a former chair of the Senate’s Homeland Security Committee. He also served as governor, a House member and state Treasurer, wins that helped the Democratic Party assert increasing dominance in Delaware.

Carper wrestled with running again in 2018 for his fourth term and ultimately decided to, foreseeing a messy primary to replace him. This time around he mulled another bid, but at 76 decided that “I should run through the tape the next twenty months.” He said he will prioritize implementation of last Congress’ infrastructure and climate bills, in addition to pushing for a bipartisan energy permitting bill.

Carper’s colleague, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), said the senior senator’s decades of service “made a lasting difference for our state and nation.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke to Blunt Rochester on Monday after Carper's announcement. Schumer told her "he believes she could be a really good senator and he looks forward to sitting down with her soon," a Schumer spokesperson said.

Blunt Rochester recalled serving as an intern for Carper and said his work "helped inspire a journey I could have hardly imagined — as I would go on to serve as his staffer, cabinet member, and eventually, colleague in the United States Congress." She did not mention a potential Senate bid in her statement despite Carper's warm words for her.

Carper often takes the train home to Delaware at night to spend time with his wife and was infamous for driving a minivan around the state, sometimes shirtless. Never an easy politician to distill down to a quick soundbite, Carper lamented the coverage of Washington in announcing his retirement and name-checked some Republicans he enjoys working with.

“I would get a lot more attention from the media if I would say hateful things about Shelley Capito and John Cornyn,” Carper said, referring to the two GOP senators. “But I don’t. They are my friends.”

A relative centrist in today’s Democratic Party, Carper was a colleague of Joe Biden’s in the Senate and an early backer of his presidential campaign. Carper was asked why he’s retiring but supporting Biden’s bid for reelection as the oldest president ever, to which he replied: “He’s actually sharper than the rest of us.”

Carper’s retirement will also create at least one open spot in Democrats’ committee leadership come 2025 on the Environment and Public Works Committee.

Carper is the fourth Democratic senator to announce they will retire at the end of next year, joining Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich..) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Tate Mitchell said, "Senate Democrats keep retiring because they know they are going to lose the majority."

But like Stabenow, who helped Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) clear the field in Michigan, Carper is already maneuvering to avoid a crowded primary. His state has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 1994, when former Sen. William Roth won his penultimate race. Carper defeated Roth in 2000.

Carper said he spoke to Blunt Rochester on Monday morning and told her: “You’ve been patient in waiting for me to get out of the way. I hope that you run.” Blunt Rochester is the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress and is one of several potential Black women who could be senators in two years.