Delaware Sen. Tom Carper exits the political stage after nearly 50 years in public life

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Delaware’s senior Sen. Tom Carper took to the Senate floor for the last time Wednesday, giving a farewell address that touched on his childhood, life in public office and his legacy.

Carper officially announced his retirement last year, after a celebrated career covering nearly 50 years. Carper said while he’s decided not to run for another term in office, he hopes he’s never truly retired.

“I smile and tell people, ‘I want to find other ways where I can continue to make a difference for as long as I live,’” he said.

The centrist Democrat is stepping off the stage after winning a record 14 straight statewide races since 1976. He’s served in the U.S. Senate since 2001. Before that, he served two terms as governor, five terms as the First State’s lone congressman and two terms as state treasurer.

Carper said he’s learned many lessons in public office, including from the nation’s current president. He became Delaware’s senior senator in 2009 when his colleague Democrat Joe Biden resigned to become President Barack Obama’s vice president.

“I learned from Joe Biden that all politics is personal, and that all diplomacy is personal. And I learned that just because someone is your adversary, one day, they don’t have to become your enemy,” Carper said.

Carper spent much of his speech highlighting his work on the environment. He has served on many committees and is currently the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. He talked about helping to pass “transformational” legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

He said those legislative wins to combat climate change were the product of bipartisan cooperation. But he said there was still a lot of unfinished work left to do.

“For all of us who have children or maybe nieces or nephews or grandchildren, we want to make sure that they do have a planet to grow up on and plan to grow old on,” he said. “We also want to make sure that they have jobs, good jobs, so they can support themselves and their families.”

Carper also praised his successor, Sen.-elect Lisa Blunt Rochester, who he encouraged to run for his seat when he announced his retirement last year. She will make history as the first Black Delawarean, first woman and first Black woman from Delaware elected to the U.S. Senate.

Carper leaves office Jan. 3 and Blunt Rochester will be sworn into office that day. The 77-year-old also thanked his wife Martha, staff, “wing man” Sen. Chris Coons and current Gov. John Carney.

Carper was born in West Virginia and grew up in Ohio. He joined the Navy as a flight officer and served in the Vietnam War before moving to Delaware in 1973 to get a master’s degree from the University of Delaware. He is the last Vietnam War veteran to serve in the Senate.