Washington DC (Washington Insider Magazine) — Thomas Richard Carper is an American politician and former military officer. He has served as the senior United States senator from Delaware. Carper also held the seat since 2001 and is a member of the Democratic Party. Carper served in the United States House of Representatives and held the seat from 1983 to 1993. He was also the 71st governor of Delaware from 1993 to 2001.
Early life and Education
Carper was born in Beckley, West Virginia. He is the son of Mary Jean (née Patton) and Wallace Richard Carper. Carper grew up in Danville, Virginia. He graduated from Whetstone High School in Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from the Ohio State University in 1968. Tom was a midshipman in the Naval ROTC and got a degree in economics. At Ohio State, Carper was a member of the Beta Phi Chapter of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He also earned an MBA from the University of Delaware in 1975.
Early Career
Tom Carper served as the Naval Flight Officer in the U.S. Navy from 1968 until 1973. He participated in tours of duty in Southeast Asia and was a part of the Vietnam War. He remained in the U.S. Naval Reserve and participated as the P-3 aircraft mission commander for more than 18 years. He retired with the rank of Captain (O-6).
While in college at the Ohio State University, Carper participated in the presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy. In Delaware, Carper worked as the campaign treasurer for University of Delaware professor James R. Soles. He got an unsuccessful 1974 bid for the U.S. House of Representatives.
After receiving the MBA degree in 1975, Carper worked for the State of Delaware’s economic development office. In 1976, he developed a good relationship with members of the state party leadership, and also took out a loan of $5,000. After convincing the party leaders, he was the right person to be Delaware State Treasurer. Tom favored Republican Party candidate, Theodore Jones from January 18, 1977, and January 3, 1983.
Political Career
Tom Carper worked in the House of Representatives. During his time in the House of Representatives, he serves U.S. Senator Joe Biden. He also served as the prominent Democrat managed to convince Carper and ran for Delaware’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was often caught up in compromising “association” on a golfing trip and also had strong relations with the lobbyist Paula Parkinson. He was still considered a strong candidate.
Carper served as the Governor of Delaware at the Republican Governor Michael Castle. He serves at the term-limited and was not able to seek reelection in 1992. Carper became known as “the Swap”, and won the Castle seeking Carper’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Tom was also seeking the governorship and faced substantive opposition for either post.
Carper served with the Democratic minority and took part in the 108th and 109th Congresses. He was also a part of the Democratic majority in the 110th Congress. Carper participated in the 107th Congress and took part in the Democratic Party. He was a member of the moderate Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and served as the vice chair. In 2004, Carper was a part of the Senate Democratic leadership.
Personal life
Carper got married to Martha Ann Stacy in 1985. The couple has two children together. The whole family is the members of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware. Unlike most senators, Carper maintained the residences in both Washington, D.C., and the home state. Carper commuted more than 100 miles by Amtrak train and went from his home in Wilmington to the United States Capitol.
Carper says that he always helped his family live a normal life although it was demanding to get a high demanding job. On May 12, 2015, Carper escaped injury and took the train home that crashed in Philadelphia shortly after he took off the train.
Tom Carper married twice. He first married in 1978, to Diane Beverly Isaacs, who is a former Miss Delaware. She had two children from a previous marriage. They got divorced in 1983. In a 1998 interview, Carper admitted, “I slapped my then-wife, Diane, during a heated argument,” describing it as a mistake.
Carper hit Isaacs “so hard he gave her a black eye”. He was also annoyed by the fact that his wife’s two children from a previous relationship “were slapped around and bruised by Carper for doing such things as leaving the family dog on the bed.” Carper denied all these claims.
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Net Worth
Tom Carper has an estimated net worth of more than $5.7 million.
