Dem
49
GOP
51
If current polling is correct, on Jan. 3, 2025, there will be two Black women in the U.S. Senate at the same time for the first time in history. Nevertheless, there also will be more white men named John in the new Senate then than the sum total of all Black women senators in over 200 years of Senate history.
Right now, there is one Black woman in the Senate, Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA). She was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) after then-Sen. Dianne Feinstein died. She is not running for election, but she was there to vote for judges and other appointees. Before her, only two Black women have served in the Senate: Carol Moseley Braun and Kamala Harris.
Delaware has an open seat because Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) is retiring. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), who is Black, is running for it. She has already won the state's only House seat four times, so she knows how to win statewide elections, and her victory is virtually certain. She is campaigning on guaranteeing women reproductive rights and combating gun violence.
Nearby Maryland also has an open seat, due to the retirement of Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD). There was a competitive Democratic primary, with Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks beating Rep. David Trone (D-MD), despite his spending $50 million of his own money on the race. Alsobrooks is Alsoblack. But her path to the Senate won't be so easy. She is facing popular former Republican governor Larry Hogan, who has broken with Donald Trump on many policy issues. He is much better known than Alsobrooks. Her main hope is that the state is so blue, that anyone with a (D) after his or her name can win in Maryland. (V)