This piece was updated on May 22, 2023. Senior Editor David Wasserman contributed to this report.
DE-AL: Lisa Blunt Rochester (D) - Entire state Solid Democrat. U.S. Sen. Tom Carper announced his retirement on Monday, opening his solidly Democratic Senate seat for the first time since 1970. U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who currently holds Delaware’s sole House seat, has long been a rumored successor to Carper and is widely expected to launch a Senate bid in the near future. That makes the At-Large District a golden opportunity for an ambitious new Delaware Democrat to board the Acela to Washington. State Democratic insiders consistently point to state Sen. Sarah McBride, 32, as a rising star with the inside track to succeed Blunt Rochester. First elected in 2020, McBride is the first openly transgender state senator in American history. A former national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign and campaign aide to former Gov. Jack Markell, McBride was a prime organizing force behind Delaware’s 2014 ban on gender identity discrimination. Last year, she was lead sponsor of a landmark family
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