Wilmington, Del.— Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester joined Tom Byrne of Delaware Public Media to discuss her campaign for the U.S. Senate, the importance of protecting reproductive rights, including IVF, the joys of being a grandmother, and what she hopes to accomplish in the Senate.

You can listen to the full interview here.

On why she is running for the U.S. Senate:

• “It has been an honor and a privilege to represent Delaware in the House of Representatives for the last eight years. Our family [has] a long history here, so to be of service at this moment has been really important. [Working] on things like bringing clean drinking water to areas of the state that hadn’t had it before and working on workforce shortages and supply chains to make sure we lower the cost of goods and health care and job training has been really important. But at this moment, I think the opportunity to serve in the Senate will allow us to do that work on a deeper level and at the same time focus on things like freedom, our reproductive freedom […]. I want to fight to make sure that my daughter and my daughter-in-law have the same rights that I did and, at the same time, things like democracy. […] I was one of the people trapped in the gallery on January 6. And I saw how close we were to losing it and how important voting is to our democracy and courts.
  
  “And, so, for me to be in a position in the Senate where I could do the work that we’ve done on […] issues like housing, […] jobs and the economy, but then also to work on our fundamental freedoms, our fundamental rights, and uplift our whole country with the theme of our campaign, which is bright hope. To me, that’s why I’m running. I want to bring some bright hope to the Senate and ultimately bring that Delaware bright hope to the country.”

On what Delawareans may not know about her:

• “One thing from my time in the House that I think a lot of people probably don’t know is that we have this theme, ‘when Lisa goes to Washington, […] we all go to Washington.’ [Also, during] my tenure in the House, I made it a point to be in multiple caucuses and multiple tables representing Delaware. So, for example, I’m in the Progressive Caucus, but I’m also in the New Dems, our business-friendly caucus. I’m in the Women’s Caucus, I’m in the Congressional Black Caucus. I’m an Assistant Whip. I am also in the Chicken Caucus, […] Port Caucus [and] the Firefighter Caucus. 
  
  “Part of it for me was to be able to lend our voice to all of these tables and be representative of Delaware. […] The second thing […] some people might not know, but it’s probably one of the most exciting things to me lately, is that in all the positions I’ve had — Delaware Secretary of Labor, the Urban League, DHS — the best title I’ve ever [received], I got last year, which is “grandmother.” I have a granddaughter, and I am elated. She brings me so much joy. She brings me bright hope as well right now, and she’s an inspiration for the work that I’m doing.”

On protecting reproductive freedom, including IVF:

• “This is probably the first time I can think that a right was actually being taken away from us. It is probably one of the number one things that people approach me [about] in our state. As a matter of fact, even in the last election, Republicans came up to me and said, ‘You know, this is unacceptable.’ When [Donald Trump] bragged about taking away [abortion] rights, trust that he [will] do it again. […] He has talked about punishing women, and this is one of the reasons why the Senate is important because we need to codify Roe v. Wade. […] I always say, ‘There’s no room in our wombs for politicians.’”  
  
  “Even things like IVF — my granddaughter […] would not be here if it were not for IVF. We’ve seen what the impacts are across the country, even on our maternal mortality. [We are the] only industrialized country where the numbers are going up for maternal deaths, and it’s three times worse for Black women. And so, for me, this issue is one […] we need to focus on. “We need to believe people, not just by what they say, but what they have done, what their record is, what they’re a part of, and who they associate with.”

On her plan to help Delaware families struggling with rising costs:

• “When I first decided to run [for office], there was […] a light bulb moment that happened for me. […] I came into this having never run for anything in my life. I literally had not run for any office and had just lost my husband at the age of 52 from a ruptured Achilles tendon. [He] played a game of basketball, and blood clots went to his heart and lungs, and I remember just being on autopilot that whole year and being literally in the supermarket where I saw a dad with three kids put back grapes because they were $9. To me, nobody should have to question, do I pay for my rent, or do I pay for my prescriptions? Do I pay for grapes and make sure my kids are healthy or not? And so it was one of the things that incentivized me to run in the first place.
  
  [We recently] put forward an affordability plan as part of our [Senate] campaign because there are issues [like] housing, where it’s probably one of the number one issues I hear up and down the state, where affordable housing is a challenge for people. [In] our affordability plan […] we want to continue to […] cut the red tape and get rid of zoning barriers that [hinder] the creation of affordable housing. […] I’ve been able to work on strengthening our supply chains. It wasn’t until the pandemic that people even paid attention to the words ‘supply chains,’ but when you couldn’t get PPE, you couldn’t get baby formula and lumber prices went up, so housing prices went up. When those things happened, it meant that the cost of things went up. I’ve passed bipartisan legislation in the House [that] is now in the Senate, with two senators who are Democrat and Republican […], and we’re hoping that it’s on its way to the President, that lowers the cost of goods for people.
  
  “[…] This moment is […] about strengthening our economy and building the economy for now and the future. It’s the thing that excites me and […] I want to make sure that every single family is lifted up. We don’t want trickling down [economics]. We want to make sure that everybody is a part of the growth and the future of this country.”

On the need for greater transparency in government:

• “I think even doing a program like this — I hope that it creates some hope and confidence that there are people that are getting the job done. A lot of times, the cameras don’t show the work that I’ve been able to do in a bipartisan way on bills like Clean Slate, [for individuals who have] served their time for low-level, nonviolent offenses, [giving them] a second chance and a clean slate. We’ve been able to pass it at the Delaware level because of the leadership that I’ve had with my Republican colleagues on the federal level.
  
  “I literally can go through all kinds of legislation that we’ve been able to work on and pass because we work together. I try to use every opportunity I can to talk about those things to instill confidence. The other piece for me is the theme of our campaign — Bright Hope. It was the name of the church my grandmother attended for 70 years in Philadelphia. And to me, it’s not just the name of a church. It is truly a way of being, even when things feel dark. It is my goal to bring […] that Delaware Bright Hope to the Senate. And, […] I’m excited because representing Delaware in Congress truly has been one of the honors of my life, and in the Senate, [being] one of one hundred, we can do so much more.”

On top policy issue she hears about while on her statewide Delivering for Delaware tour:

• [What I’m] hearing from people [during our] “Delivering for Delaware” tour that we’re still on, we’ve come out with an agriculture plan. We’ve come out with, you know, an affordability plan. I pass out index cards sometimes when I’m meeting with round tables, and I did one just the other day. Almost every card came back — housing, affordable housing, homelessness — to me, the ability to create more affordable housing, the ability to make sure that people don’t have to work three jobs to afford the house — that’s important and […] something that I want to work on because I know the impact of a good, clean, safe place. When [my family] moved here in 1969, we moved into an apartment, and then at the age of 10, my parents moved into our first home here in Wilmington, and I know how that felt as a kid. Building generational wealth is [tied to] homeownership.”