Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware won’t seek reelection, opening up seat in liberal state

— Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware announced Monday that he will not seek reelection to a fifth term in the U.S. Senate. The options, according to the former two-term governor, were vying for a record 15th statewide election win, or to just “ride off into the sunset and call it day.” “After a good deal of prayer and introspection, and more than a few heart-to-heart conversations, we’ve decided I should do neither, but, rather I should should run through the tape over the next 20 months and finish the important work that my staff and I have begun on a wide range of fronts, many of them begun in partnership with Democrat and Republican colleagues in the Senate and in the House,” he said. “The Delaware Democratic Party is blessed today with a bench as strong as any I’ve ever seen in the last 50 years that I’ve called Delaware home,” he said. “And she said, ‘yes, I will let you support me,’ and so I’m going to,” said Carper, deferring any questions on whether Blunt Rochester will indeed run to her. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Schumer spoke with Blunt Rochester by phone after hearing of Carper’s decision.