Lisa LaTrelle Blunt Rochester (née Blunt; born February 10, 1962) also known by her initials LBR, is an American politician serving as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for since 2017. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, she is the first woman and first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to represent Delaware in Congress.

Early life and education

Blunt Rochester was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania, on February 10, 1962. Her family moved to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, in 1969. Her father, Ted Blunt, served on the Wilmington

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, including as council president. Her mother, Alice LaTrelle, worked in retail. Blunt Rochester attended

Padua Academy Padua Academy is an all-girls Catholic high school in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. The school strongly emphasizes college preparation, leadership, civic responsibility, and spiritual ...

, began college at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

, and later transferred to the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

in her sophomore year. She left college to live in Europe, and later received her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

from

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

and her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in urban affairs and

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

from the University of Delaware.

Early political career

Blunt Rochester worked for

Tom Carper Thomas Richard Carper (born January 23, 1947) is an American politician and former military officer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Delaware, having held the seat si ...

as an

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

in 1989, when he served as Delaware's U.S. Representative. After the internship, she continued to work for Carper as a constituent relations caseworker, and worked on his transition team when he was elected

governor of Delaware A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. Carper appointed her deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services in 1993 and Secretary of the Department of Labor in 1998. Governor

Ruth Ann Minner Ruth Ann Minner (née Coverdale; January 17, 1935 – November 4, 2021) was an American politician and businesswoman from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 72nd (and, to date, only female) gov ...

named Blunt Rochester the state personnel director in 2001. In 2004, Blunt Rochester left government service and became the CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington

Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Blunt Rochester ran for the United States House of Representatives in in the 2016 election. She won the

nomination on September 13 and the general election against

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Hans Reigle on November 8. When she was sworn into office on January 3, 2017, she became the first woman and the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

to represent Delaware in Congress. During her swearing-in, she carried a scarf imprinted with her great-great-great-grandfather's

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

voter registration In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ru ...

card. He had been a

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Tenure

On December 18, 2019, Blunt Rochester voted for both articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. During the

2021 storming of the United States Capitol On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-United States President, U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol, U ...

, Blunt Rochester was ushered into a secure room with fellow members of Congress. Despite House rules on mask mandates, multiple Republican members, including

Marjorie Taylor Greene Marjorie Taylor Greene (born May 27, 1974), also known by her initials MTG, is an American politician, businesswoman, and far-right conspiracy theorist Sources describing Greene as "far-right" include: * * * * * * * * * who has served as th ...

of Georgia, abstained from wearing a mask. A clip went viral of Blunt Rochester offering masks to her Republican colleagues, in which they seemingly mocked and refused her offer. In the following days, multiple members tested positive for COVID-19. Blunt Rochester voted to impeach Trump a second time on January 15, 2021.

2020 presidential election

Blunt Rochester played an active role in the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

. After Joe Biden became the presumptive Democratic nominee in March 2020, his

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

named her one of its co-chairs. At the end of April, Blunt Rochester was named a member of the vetting committee for Biden's vice presidential candidate selection. Rochester was a

2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...

speaker.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Energy and Commerce ** Subcommittee on Health ** Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change ** Subcommittee on Energy

Caucus memberships

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce ...

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most Left-wing politics, left-leaning faction of the ...

* Future of Work Caucus (Founder / Co-Chair) *

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a congressional caucus, caucus in the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democratic Party (United States), Democrats, primarily Centrism, cent ...

Personal life

Blunt Rochester was married to her first husband, basketball player Alex Bradley, from 1982 to 2003. They met at Villanova and lived in Europe while he played basketball professionally. They have two children together. She met her second husband, Charles, later in 2003. They married in 2006. Charles died in 2014. He ruptured his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

which caused blood clots to go to his heart and lungs. Blunt Rochester identifies as a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. While living abroad in China with her then-husband, Blunt Rochester co-authored the book ''Thrive: 34 Women, 18 Countries, One Goal''.

Electoral history

Book

References

External links

Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Blunt Rochester, Lisa 1962 births 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American state cabinet secretaries African-American people in Delaware politics Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Delaware Fairleigh Dickinson University alumni Female members of the United States House of Representatives Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign Living people People from Wilmington, Delaware State cabinet secretaries of Delaware University of Delaware alumni Women in Delaware politics American expatriates in China American Protestants