*Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks from Maryland made history this week when voters elected them as the first Black women to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Senate.
Their victories increase the number of Black women who have ever served in the Senate from two to four and raise the total number of Black senators to a record five. Blunt Rochester is also the first woman and first Black person to represent Delaware in the Senate. Alsobrooks is the first Black woman senator from Maryland.
“The people have spoken, and we’re bringing bright hope to the United States Senate,” Blunt Rochester declared to her supporters,Revolt reports. “I stand before you tonight extremely humbled, and with a heart filled with gratitude to God and to the people of Delaware who put their trust in me.”
In her victory speech, Alsobrooks stated: “It is remarkable to me that in two years, America will celebrate its 250th birthday, and in all those years there have been more than two thousand people who have served in the United States Senate, and only three have looked like me. I want to salute all of those who came before me. Who made it possible for me to stand on this stage tonight.”
Democratic Sen. Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois made history in 1992 as the first Black woman elected to the Senate, serving one term. Kamala Harris followed as the second, while Sen. Laphonza Butler was appointed to complete the term of the late Dianne Feinstein who passed away in 2023.
“I am incredibly honored to officially be Delaware’s Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate,” Blunt Rochester said during her campaigning.
“From the start, our focus has been ensuring that every Delawarean has a fair shot at a better future — from access to good-paying jobs and affordable health care to safe, thriving communities,” she added. “The Senate is an opportunity to work on these issues on a deeper level, plus work on the most pressing issues of our lifetimes — restoring our reproductive freedoms and advancing voting rights for every American.”
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Senate Could Make History with First-Ever Concurrent Black Women Senators
