“We are proud to endorse two pro-equality Delaware leaders, Senator Tom Carper and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, for re-election,” said JoDee Winterhof, HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs. “Every time they take the train down to Washington, Senator Carper and Congresswoman Blunt Rochester carry with them the hopes of all Delawareans. With the LGBTQ community under attack by the Trump-Pence administration, Senator Carper and Congresswoman Blunt Rochester have tirelessly fought to defend our progress and advance equality for LGBTQ people both in Delaware and around the nation. Now more than ever, we need elected officials who can help pull the emergency brake on the Trump-Pence administration, and in Senator Carper and Congresswoman Blunt Rochester, Delawareans have those leaders.”

"All Americans—regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identify—deserve equal protection under the law,” said Senator Tom Carper (D-DE). “We made incredible strides toward LGBT equality during the Obama-Biden Administration, but that progress is under attack by the Trump-Pence Administration. I am honored to receive the endorsement from Human Rights Campaign, and I will continue to fight for equal rights and federal protections for LGBT Americans in the Senate."

"I'm so incredibly proud to receive the Human Rights Campaign's endorsement," said Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE). "I have always believed in the inspiring and empowering effect of love. It's why I have always fought to ensure that no one is denied their basic rights for who they are or who they love. The setbacks we’ve experienced are frustrating, but I'm motivated and energized by ordinary citizens standing up and fighting for what is right. It is a fight I will not run away from, and I look forward to working with HRC to support our LGBTQ community and to ensure that love always conquers hate."

HRC has worked closely with Senator Carper and Representative Blunt Rochester during their time in Congress. Senator Carper earned perfect scores on the HRC Congressional Scorecard in both the 114th and 113th Congress — a key tool measuring their support for LGBTQ equality. Since taking office more recently in January of 2017, Representative Blunt Rochester has been a staunch ally to the LGBTQ community, co-sponsoring critical pro-equality legislation.

Both Senator Carper and Representative Blunt Rochester are co-sponsors of the Equality Act, a comprehensive LGBTQ nondiscrimination bill. Earlier this month, Senator Carper and U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) introduced the Census Equality Act, a bill that would ensure that the LGBTQ community is represented fairly in the U.S. Census.

Last summer, HRC announced a bold, proactive grassroots expansion with the launch of HRC Rising — a campaign to accelerate progress in states from coast-to-coast, resist the politics of hate, fight anti-LGBTQ legislation, and fuel pro-equality candidates and initiatives. The expansion is the biggest strategic investment in the organization’s 37-year history. Throughout the next several months, HRC will be mobilizing Delaware’s “Equality Voters,” meaning they are strong supporters of progressive LGBTQ policies including marriage equality, adoption by LGBTQ people, and laws that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

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Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC (www.hrc.org) and authorized by Carper for Senate and Lisa Blunt Rochester for Congress