Delaware one step closer to electing its first black woman to Congress

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Lisa Blunt Rochester is looking to make history after winning the Democratic primary for Delaware’s only seat in the House of Representatives. If she wins, she will be the first woman and the first African-American to be elected to Congress from Delaware.

In a primary field in which six candidates were vying for the seat, Blunt Rochester received 44 percent of the vote, meaning she is now preparing for the election in November against Republican Hans Reigle, Green Party candidate Mark Joseph and Libertarian Scott Gesty.

Her opponents also recognize the historic moment, with Bryan Townsend saying, “I’m excited for Lisa, for her supporters and for Delaware, a state that has embraced the kind of diversity that is important in politics. I’m also surprised that this wasn’t the close, two-person race that data had been showing. Our grassroots, door-to-door campaign simply got overpowered by TV and other ads.”

While Delaware’s residents are overwhelmingly Democratic, outnumbering Republicans 2 to 1, Blunt Rochester is not going to take her win as a given.

“We need to be sure we keep the broad-based coalition we worked with to get to this point,” she said. “What this campaign has showed is that we need to continue focusing on the issues, focusing on the voters and keep it positive.”