Release: U.S. Senator Chris Coons Endorses Sarah McBride for Congress
Wilmington, DE — Today, Delaware’s U.S. Senator Chris Coons announced his endorsement of State Senator Sarah McBride for Congress. This announcement marks the news that every statewide elected official in Delaware has endorsed Sarah McBride for Congress.
“I’m thrilled to join Senator Carper and Congresswoman Blunt Rochester in endorsing Sarah McBride to be our next member of the congressional delegation,” said Senator Coons in a statement. “Sarah has been my state senator for the past four years, where she passed paid family and medical leave, raised the minimum wage, and ensured that Delaware is a safe haven for reproductive health care.
“Sarah has accomplished all this by embracing bipartisan and collaborative leadership in the General Assembly. Nearly every piece of legislation Sarah has drafted, introduced, and passed has gained bipartisan support."
“It’s critical that we send proven leaders to Washington. We need our next member of Congress to deliver real results for our state. Sarah is that proven leader and that’s why I’m proud to endorse her for Congress.”
In response to the announcement, Senator McBride said, “Senator Coons is a tireless and effective voice on behalf of Delawareans and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have his support in this campaign. In Congress, we’ll work together to deliver for all Delawareans, to bring down costs facing families, expand access to health care and child care, and defend reproductive freedom. I am honored to have the endorsement of Delaware’s full federal delegation as I run to join them in Congress.”
Since launching her campaign a year ago, McBride has built a wide coalition of endorsers, set fundraising records in Delaware, and created 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, 23 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
House Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse
Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley
Congressman Gabe Amo
Congressman Pat Ryan
Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill
Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon
Congressman Brendan Boyle
Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords
U.S. Senator Tom Carper
U.S. Senator John Fetterman
Former U.S. Senator Ted Kaufman
Governor John Carney
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)
Former State Senator Margaret Rose Henry (SD-02)
Speaker of the House Val Longhurst
House Majority Leader Melissa Minor-Brown
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
Mayor Billy West, Georgetown
Mayor Valarie Windle Leary, New Castle
Former Newark Mayor Polly Sierer
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)
Wilmington City Council Member Latisha Bracy (At-Large)
Darrynn Harris, Bridgeville Commissioner (District 5)
Y.F. Lou, Christina School Board Member
Maria Matos, Nonprofit Leader & Community Advocate
Dr. Terri Hodges, Education & Civil Rights Advocate
Beatrice “Bebe” Coker, Education and Civil Rights Advocate
New Democrat Coalition Action Fund
Congressional Progressive Caucus
National Education Association
Delaware Building and Construction Trades
Delaware State AFL-CIO
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
League of Conservation Voters Action Fund
JStreet PAC
Delaware Stonewall PAC
Shore Democrats
Eastern Sussex Democrats
End Citizens United / Let America Vote
Next50
National Women’s Political Caucus
National Organization for Women PAC
Elect Democratic Women
Defend the Vote
Brady PAC
GIFFORDS PAC
Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate Distinction
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 home state 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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