DELAWARE DEMOCRAT WON’T RUN FOR RE-ELECTION
Carper will retire from Senate to cap long political career
Sen. Tom Carper, a veteran Democrat from Delaware, announced Monday that he would not seek reelection next year, opening up a seat in a deep-blue state that he said he hoped would go to his hand-picked successor.
Carper, 76, is in his fourth term in the Senate and is the last surviving Vietnam War veteran to serve there. He has held public office since the 1970s, first as Delaware’s treasurer, then for a decade as a congressman, then as governor and, since 2001, as a senator.
“This just seems like a good time just to turn the page and move on,” Carper said at a news conference in Wilmington, Del. He added, “I’ve got miles to go, and I’m going to make every day count.”
The senator said he intended to do all he could to help Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, the Democrat who serves as the state’s only member of the House and was his former intern, win the race to succeed him.
As the chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Carper said he planned to spend his final months in Congress overseeing the clean energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act and key projects included in the bipartisan infrastructure legislation.
“I’ll continue working 60hour weeks,” he said.
Carper said he also planned to help his friend President Joe Biden succeed and win re-election, brushing aside questions about the president’s age.
“Every meeting I’ve been a part of, he’s actually sharper than the rest of us,” Carper said.
He said he had called Blunt Rochester on Monday morning and told her, “You’ve been patient waiting for me to get out of the way, and I’m going to get out of the way.”
He added that he also told her: “I hope you run, and
I hope you’ll let me support you in that mission.”
And Carper said Blunt Rochester replied, “Yes, I’ll let you support me.”
Blunt Rochester, who is also in her fourth term, has not yet announced a campaign but has publicly expressed interest in running. In a statement, she praised Carper as a lawmaker who was “more interested in attending a local Sunday service than doing the Sunday shows, more interested in hearing from his constituents in person than getting clicks online and more interested in the happenings of the day in Delaware than D.C.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., the majority leader, spoke by phone with Blunt Rochester shortly after hearing of Carper’s decision and told her he “believes she could be a really good senator and he looks forward to sitting down with her soon,” according to Schumer’s spokesperson.
In a separate statement, Schumer praised Carper as a “conscientious, hardworking, honorable and effective senator who has done so much for his beloved Delaware and America, particularly in protecting our precious environment and strengthening our transportation systems.”
Schumer credited Carper for spearheading important legislation such as postal reform and reducing the effects of methane in the atmosphere.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said Carper relied on his background as a former governor during his time in the
Senate.
“Tom Carper has also mentored a generation of Delaware leaders,” Coons said. “From my first race for County Council president, he has encouraged and supported my career in service, acting as a source of advice and encouragement when I needed it most, and as a role model for balancing family and service.”
Carper is one of several senators who have announced that they will not seek re-election next year. The others are Democrats Ben Cardin of Maryland, Dianne Feinstein of California and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, and Republican Mike Braun of Indiana.