Summary

Thomas Richard Carper was born in 1947 and is currently serving as the senior United States Senator from Delaware. Senator Carper was reelected in 2018 and his seat will be up for election in 2024.

A member of the Democratic Party, Carper was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000 and was reelected in 2006 and 2012. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1993 and was the 71st Governor of Delaware from 1993 to 2001. As Senator, Carper serves as one of four Deputy Democratic Whips, and is currently the dean of the Delaware congressional delegations.

Senator Carper is currently serving as the Ranking Member on the Committee on Environment and Public Works. He also served on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and on the Finance Committee.

Below is Senator Carper’s voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish Community 

In 2018, Senator Carper declined to cosponsor the Israel Anti-Boycott Act saying that “the ACLU raised some serious concerns about free speech and possible violations of free speech, and those concerns were part of why a number of senators chose not to cosponsor the legislation.”

Senator Carper is a supporter of the two-state solution. He supported the Iran nuclear deal, arguing that the agreement imposed very intrusive inspections that provided the U.S. with sophisticated monitoring capabilities.

In 2019, he voted against the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthened Israel’s security and allowed a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel. He has cosponsored a resolution that opposes efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement that targets Israel.

Senator Carper is a cosponsor of Senate Resolution 234 – introduced in Congress on June 5th, 2019 – which reaffirms the commitment of the U.S. to the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and argues that Israeli annexation of territory in the West Bank would undermine peace and Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state.