Release: U.S. Senator Tom Carper Endorses Sarah McBride for Congress
Delaware Democrats are uniting behind Sarah McBride’s candidacy
Wilmington, DE — Today, Delaware’s U.S. Senator Tom Carper announced his endorsement of State Senator Sarah McBride’s campaign for Delaware’s open Congressional seat.
“I have known Sarah McBride for 30 years. It has been my pleasure to watch her grow up and grow into the leader she has become today,” said Senator Carper in announcing his support of McBride’s campaign.
“For the last four years, Sarah McBride has served as my state senator. In that time, I’ve seen her compassionate and collaborative leadership emerge and flourish. During her time in the General Assembly, Senator McBride's colleagues have adopted nearly every single piece of legislation she’s brought forth with bipartisan support, and this has led to one of the highest legislative success rates of all Senators in the General Assembly.
“Senator McBride has done all of this while delivering for working families, protecting our environment, and passing the largest expansion of Delaware's social safety net in decades. She’s been able to accomplish all of this, in large part, because she rolls up her sleeves, works hard, listens to everyone, and, ultimately, delivers for all of us.
“As I begin to approach High Noon, January 3, 2025, when my tenure in the U.S. Senate comes to a close, I believe that Delaware will be in good hands with Sarah McBride representing us in the U.S. House of Representatives — and I am proud to endorse my current state senator, Sarah McBride, to be our next Congresswoman.”
In response to the announcement, Senator McBride said, “U.S. Senator Tom Carper has been my Congressman, Governor, Senator, and, today, I'm proud to call him a supporter of my campaign. Senator Carper's legacy is too big to fully capture. From his record fostering economic growth and expanding access to child care as governor to his leadership in the Senate on climate, mass transit, and government services, Delaware and Delawareans are better off because of Senator Carper's hard work and his results. No one loves Delaware more than Tom Carper and I couldn't be more honored to have his endorsement in my campaign to represent this state in the U.S. House.”
This follows notable endorsements for McBride announced in the last week from Delaware’s Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and House Democratic Chair Pete Aguilar. Since launching her campaign a year ago, McBride has built a campaign that has made her the frontrunner for the seat by earning a wide coalition of endorsements, beating fundraising records, and leading a grassroots organizing operation that has reached thousands of Delaware voters. McBride has been endorsed by more than twenty Delaware unions, five Delaware statewide elected officials, dozens of her colleagues in the General Assembly and counting, community organizers, and national advocacy organizations. She has also been endorsed by caucuses representing nearly every Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, including both the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the moderate NewDems Coalition caucus.
Leaders and organizations that have announced their support of Senator McBride include:
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries
House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark
House Democratic Chair Pete Aguilar
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi
US Senator Tom Carper
Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester
Attorney General Kathy Jennings
Treasurer Colleen Davis
Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro
State Auditor Lydia York
Former Lt. Governor & Attorney General Matt Denn
Former State Auditor & New Castle County Executive Dennis Greenhouse
Senate President Pro Tempore Senator Dave Sokola
Senate Majority Leader Senator Bryan Townsend
Senate Majority Whip Senator Elizabeth Lockman
Sen. Laura Sturgeon (SD-04)
Sen. Kyle Evans Gay (SD-05)
Sen. Russ Huxtable (SD-06)
Sen. Spiros Mantzavinos (SD-07)
Sen. Jack Walsh (SD-09)
Sen. Stephanie Hansen (SD-10)
Sen. Nicole Poore (SD-12)
Sen. Marie Pinkney (SD-13)
Sen. Kyra Hoffner (SD-14)
Sen. Trey Paradee (SD-17)
Fmr. State Senator Margaret Rose Henry (SD-02)
House Majority Leader Val Longhurst
Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha (HD-01)
Rep. Kendra Johnson (HD-05)
Rep. Debra Heffernan (HD-06)
Rep. Krista Griffith (HD-12)
Rep. DeShanna Neal (HD-13)
Rep. Sophie Phillips (HD-18)
Rep. Kim Williams (HD-19)
Rep. Stell Parker Selby (HD-20)
Rep. Paul Baumbach (HD-23)
Rep. Ed Osienski (HD-24)
Rep. Cyndie Romer (HD-25)
Rep. Bill Carson (HD-28)
Mayor Mike Purzycki, Wilmington
House Majority Leader Valarie Windle Leary, New Castle
Wilmington City Council President Trippi Congo
Wilmington City Council Member Zanthia Oliver (District 3)
Wilmington City Council Member Bregetta Fields (District 5)
Wilmington City Council Member Chris Johnson (District 7)
Wilmington City Council Member Nathan Field (District 8)
Wilmington City Council Member Maria Cabrera (At-Large)
Former Newark Mayor Polly Sierer
Y.F. Lou, Christina School Board Member
Maria Matos, Nonprofit Leader & Community Advocate
Dr. Terri Hodges, Education & Civil Rights Advocate
Delaware State AFL-CIO
Delaware Building and Construction Trades
AFSCME & AFSCME Council 81
Teamsters Local 326
Delaware State Association of Letter Carriers
UFCW Local 27
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 313
United Association Plumbers and Steamfitters of the United States and Canada Local Union 74
Delaware Laborers Local 199
International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 5 & Local 7
UA Sprinkler Fitters Local 669
International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1
International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Ironworkers Local 451
Millwright and Machinery Erectors Local 219
Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters Local 255
Piledrivers & Divers Local #474
IUPAT District Council 21
Boilermakers Local 13
Cement Masons Local 592
Sheet Metal Workers Local 19
United Telephone Workers of Delaware/CWA Local 13101
Heat & Frost Insulators Local 42
Roofers Local 30
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 542
Amalgamated Transit Union
Association of Flight Attendants
Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Reproductive Freedom for All
EMILY's List
Delaware Stonewall PAC
Shore Democrats
End Citizens United / Let America Vote
Next50
National Women’s Political Caucus
National Organization for Women PAC
Elect Democratic Women
Defend the Vote
Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate
New Democrat Coalition Action Fund
Congressional Progressive Caucus
Our Revolution
Human Rights Campaign PAC
LPAC
LGBTQ+ Victory Fund
ABOUT SARAH MCBRIDE
Sarah McBride represents roughly 50,000 Delawareans in the First State Senate District, which includes parts of Wilmington and Brandywine Hundred. Sarah grew up in Wilmington and has been advocating for her community for decades. She worked for former Governor Jack Markell, the late Attorney General Beau Biden, and served in the Obama White House. Most recently, she served as the national spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ equal rights organization.
When McBride was elected in November 2020, she became the first openly transgender state senator in American history. In just her first term, McBride passed the landmark Healthy Delaware Families Act, providing paid family and medical leave to workers throughout the First State and marking the largest expansion of Delaware's social safety net in decades. She also passed legislation expanding access to health care, requiring mental health and media literacy education in public schools, promoting green technologies, preventing lead poisoning in youth, and protecting workers and families.
McBride currently serves as chair of the Senate Health & Social Services Committee and is a member of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, Education Committee, Banking, Business, Insurance, and Technology Committee, and Executive Committee.
Sarah married her late husband Andrew Cray in 2014 and is the proud aunt of seven. She is a graduate of Cab Calloway School of the Arts and American University. McBride has taught public policy at the University of Delaware and is the author of the 2018 memoir, “Tomorrow Will Be Different,” which includes a foreword from President Joe Biden.
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