Tom Carper : Net Worth, Family, Wife, Education, Children, Age, Biography and Political Career

Thomas Richard Carper is an American politician and former military officer serving as the senior us Senator from Delaware, having held the seat since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, Carper served within the us House of Representatives from 1983 to 1993 and was the 71st governor of Delaware from 1993 to 2001.

A native of Beckley, West Virginia, Carper graduated from Ohio State University. Serving as a Naval Flight Officer within the U.S. Navy from 1968 until 1973, he flew the P-3 Orion as a Tactical Coordinator/Mission Commander and saw active duty within the Vietnam War . After leaving the active duty Navy, he remained within the U.S. Naval Reserve for an additional 18 years and eventually retired with the rank of Captain (O-6). Upon receiving his MBA from the University of Delaware in 1975, Carper visited work for the State of Delaware in its economic development office. He was elected treasurer, serving from 1977 to 1983 and leading the event of Delawares first cash management system.

Encouraged by local politicians, Carper successfully ran for Delawares only seat within the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982. He served five terms within the House, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Economic Stabilization. In 1992 he arranged a swap with term-limited Republican Governor Mike Castle, and therefore the two were easily elected to every others seats. Carper governed for 2 terms as a moderate, business-oriented New Democrat, following the lead of the 2 previous Republican governors.

Carper was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000, defeating Republican incumbent William Roth. He was reelected by landslides in 2006, 2012, and 2018. He is one among four Deputy Democratic Whips, the ranking member of the Senate Environment and structure Committee and on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and therefore the committee . Carper is that the senior senator in Delawares congressional delegation and therefore the dean of the delegation. hes the last Vietnam War veteran to serve within the Senate.

Carper was born in Beckley, West Virginia, the son of Mary Jean and Wallace Richard Carper. He grew up in Danville, Virginia, and graduated from Whetstone highschool in Columbus, Ohio. He then graduated from the Ohio State University in 1968, where he was a midshipman within the Naval ROTC and earned a degree in economics. At Ohio State, Carper became a member of the Beta Phi Chapter of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Carper earned a MBA from the University of Delaware in 1975.

Tom Carper Net Worth

Tom Carper net worth is $2.7 Million.

Tom Carper Family

Carper married Martha Ann Stacy in 1985. they need two children. The family are members of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware.

Unlike most senators, who maintain residences in both Washington, D.C., and in their home state, Carper commutes quite 100 miles by Amtrak train from his range in Wilmington to the us Capitol. Carper says this arrangement has helped his family live a traditional life despite his demanding, high-profile job. On May 12, 2015, he narrowly escaped injury when the train he took home derailed and crashed in Philadelphia shortly after he deboarded.

Carper has been married twice, first in 1978, to Diane Beverly Isaacs, a former Miss Delaware, who had two children by a previous marriage. They divorced in 1983. during a 1998 interview, Carper admitted, "I slapped my then-wife, Diane, during a heated argument," describing it as an error . a replacement York Post article in 1982 stated that Carper hit Isaacs "so hard he gave her a black eye" which his wifes 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 these claims.

Tom Carper Wife and Children

Carper married Martha Ann Stacy in 1985. they need two children. The family are members of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware.

Carper has been married twice, first in 1978, to Diane Beverly Isaacs, a former Miss Delaware, who had two children by a previous marriage. They divorced in 1983. during a 1998 interview, Carper admitted, "I slapped my then-wife, Diane, during a heated argument," describing it as an error . a replacement York Post article in 1982 stated that Carper hit Isaacs "so hard he gave her a black eye" which his wifes 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 these claims.

Tom Carper Career and Achievement

Serving as a Naval Flight Officer within the U.S. Navy from 1968 until 1973, he served three tours of duty in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War . He remained within the U.S. Naval Reserve as a P-3 aircraft mission commander for an additional 18 years and retired with the rank of Captain (O-6).

While in college at the Ohio State University, Carper worked on the presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy. In Delaware, he worked because the campaign treasurer for University of Delaware professor James R. Soles in his unsuccessful 1974 bid for the U.S. House of Representatives.

After receiving his MBA degree in 1975, Carper visited work for the State of Delawares economic development office. In 1976, after developing good relationships with members of the state party leadership, he took out a $5,000 consumer loan to fund his campaign for the Treasurer of Delaware. After convincing the party leaders, and later the voters, that he was the proper person to be Delaware treasurer , he defeated the favored Republican Party candidate, Theodore Jones. He served three terms, from January 18, 1977, through January 3, 1983, during which era he oversaw the event of Delawares first cash management system.

U.S. House of Representatives

It took a substantial amount of persuasion on the a part of U.S. Senator Joe Biden et al. to convince Carper to go away his obscure, but safe, position as Treasurer and compete for Delawares only seat within the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982. Thomas B. Evans Jr., the incumbent Republican, was running again, and although he had been caught during a compromising "association" on a golfing trip with the young lobbyist Paula Parkinson, he was still a formidable and well-connected politician.

The campaign was going well for Carper until three weeks before polling day , when the ny Post published a piece of writing claiming that the "dirtiest campaign within the country is being waged in tiny Delaware." Retelling the well-known story of Evans golfing trip, it went on to accuse Carper of abusing his wife and stepchildren. But the story actually ended up working to Carpers political advantage when suspicions spread that the allegations had been planted by an Evans supporter and when popular opinion appeared to conclude that the allegations were inappropriately exploiting a personal issue.

Carper went on to serve five terms within the U.S. House of Representatives. He won his second term in 1984, by defeating Elise R. W. du Pont, the wife of retiring Governor Pete du Pont. He then enjoyed easy victories over Republicans Thomas S. Neuberger in 1986, James P. Krapf in 1988 and Ralph O. Williams in 1990. A U.S. Representative, he was a member of the U.S. House Committee on Banking, Finance and concrete Affairs and therefore the U.S House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. He chaired the House Subcommittee on Economic Stabilization. In these positions he worked to permit banks into the securities business and to discourage the dumping of sludge into the ocean.

During his years within the U.S. House of Representatives Carper sought to realize better control of the Democratic Party organization in Delaware in hopes of someday becoming governor. Heavily Democratic and with over half the population of the state, New Castle County was the key. Its Democratic organization was controlled by Eugene T. Reed, a former ironworker, and an old-time party boss who was then among several politicians in both parties implicated in illegal money raising practices. to deal with this corruption and rescue the reputation of the Democratic Party , Carper recruited Joseph E. Reardon, a DuPont Company chemist, as a candidate for brand spanking new Castle County Democratic Party chairman. By early 1989, he had succeeded in getting Reardon elected, and Reardon replaced Reed at the top of a newly reformed party organization. In 1990 Carper faced a primary challenge from a Reed ally, Daniel D. Rappa, after winning, he went on to win election to his fifth term as U.S. Representative.

Governor of Delaware

In the small and intimate political community of Delaware, important decisions are often made by a consensus of leaders from both parties. So it had been in 1992, when popular incumbent (Republican) Governor Michael Castle was forced to retire due to term limits. The result was what became referred to as "the Swap." Castle ran for Carpers seat within the U.S. House of Representatives and Carper ran for Governor. Neither faced any significant opposition and Delaware retained the services of two very fashionable office holders representing both major parties.

Thus, in 1992, Carper was elected Governor of Delaware, defeating the Republican candidate, B. Gary Scott. He ended up serving two terms. As a moderate, business-oriented Democrat who followed two very competent and popular Republican administrations, those of Pete du Pont and chateau , Carper chose to control in much an equivalent way that they had over their combined 16 years in office, adding to the combination his interest in and talent for economic development and business recruitment. Two particular successes were his prevention of the closure of the overall Motors automobile operation near Newport, Delaware, and therefore the states victory within the competition with Pennsylvania for the situation of the headquarters of the pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca.

Continuing du Ponts tax cutting policies, Carper led an ongoing effort to scale back tax rates, eliminate the wedding penalty and inheritance tax, cut the general public utility tax, and eliminate the gross receipts tax for several small businesses. By doing so, his administration improved the states credit rating from among the worst within the nation to a superb "AAA". He also retained Castles standards-based education schemes , raising standards, testing students, and pushing through an educator accountability bill. Other programs included a totally funded start program and therefore the creation of a prescription-drug benefit for seniors.

Carpers independent, New Democrat approach made him popular among voters, but caused grumbling among old line Democrats, particularly union leaders, who complained that not enough of them were being awarded patronage jobs after the various years of Republican control. In an era of increasingly bitter, partisan politics, Carpers actions and policies placed him at the political center, keep with Delawares consensus sort of governing. One atypical example of Carpers bipartisan cooperation occurred in 1995, when Carpers former House colleague Bob Dornan was running as a candidate within the 1996 Republican primary for the Presidential nomination. At a stop in Wilmington, Delaware, for a train on which Dornan was traveling, Carper was waiting on the platform, dressed as a pregnant woman, carrying a symbol that said "Dornan is that the One". Dornan recognized Carper, and went by with the joke, which Carper had coordinated with the Republican State Committee of Delaware.

The most poignant event during this era was the murder of Carpers personal scheduler, Anne Marie Fahey, and therefore the eventual conviction of Thomas J. Capano for the crime. Capano was a wealthy, well-connected lawyer, known to just about everyone in Delawares political community. Fahey, a 30-year-old member of another well-known family, was attempting to finish a romantic relationship with the married Capano, when he murdered her and dumped her body within the Atlantic . U.S. Attorney Colm F. Connolly built the case against Capano, who was tried and convicted, then sentenced by Delaware court Judge William Swain Lee.

As a tribute to Fahey, who had been a youth mentor, then-Governor Carper also became a mentor and commenced actively promoting mentoring programs throughout Delawares businessmen . As a result, by the top of his last term, Delaware held the very best per-capita ratio of youth mentors within the country. Carper also established the Delaware Mentoring Council to assist sustain this important legacy.

United States Senate

Elections

2000

The elections of 2000 promised to bring a change in Delawares political lineup. For 16 years, an equivalent four people had held the four major statewide positions — Governor Carper and fellow Democratic Senator Joe Biden, and Republicans U.S. Representative Michael Castle and Senator William Roth. due to gubernatorial term limits, Carper had to retire from the post. He wanted to run the Senate against the incumbent Roth. Roth wouldnt retire voluntarily and fellow Republican Castle wouldnt force him into a primary. Carper declared his candidacy in September 1999. during a contest between two popular and revered politicians, the difficulty appeared to be Roths age: Roth was 79, versus Carpers relative youth. Although Roth started the campaign with a 2-to-1 spending advantage, Carper went into the ultimate month with quite $1 million available . Carper defeated Roth by twelve points, 56% to 44%. Roth received more votes than Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush, suggesting that the strength of the Democratic turnout for the presidential election was a key think about Carpers victory. Some commentators attributed Roths defeat to his age and health, as he collapsed twice during the campaign, once within the middle of a television interview and once during a campaign event.

2006

Carper sought re-election to a second term in 2006. He was unopposed within the Democratic primary and faced off against Republican candidate Jan C. Ting. Ting was a professor of law who had narrowly beaten airline pilot Michael D. Protack within the Republican primary. Carper was easily re-elected during a landslide win, beating Ting 67% to 27%.

2012

As the 2012 election cycle began, an excellent PAC was created to oppose Carpers re-election campaign. Capitol Hill quoted Patrick Davis, the custodian of records and agent for Renew Delaware as saying: "Tom Carper has served within the us Senate for an extended time and has been a part of the downturn in our economy." Delaware Politics noted that the election would be costly for the Republican candidate which the favored Carper was heavily favored to win a 3rd term in office. A Carper spokesperson, Emily Spain, was quoted within the Hill saying that Carper was successful in his previous campaigns "because hes employed hard, takes nothing without any consideration and puts the requirements and interests of Delaware first." Carper won the Democratic primary with 88% of the vote and faced off against the sole Republican candidate who filed for the race, businessman Kevin Wade. Carper was re-elected in another landslide, beating Wade 66% to 29%.

2018

In August 2018, Carper was seeking his fourth six-year term within the us Senate. His campaign contributors included DuPont, with DuPont being his third largest contributor since 2013. Between 2013 and 2018, he received $2.1 million from political action committees. Carper was challenged from the left by Kerri Evelyn Harris, a US Air Force Veteran. She contrasts with Carper therein she advocates one payer healthcare system, and Carper wants to stay performing on the Affordable Health Care Act. Carper defeated Harris within the primary with roughly 65% of the vote. it had been Carpers best primary in his recent political history. within the election , Carper defeated Republican opponent Rob Arlett by a landslide margin of twenty-two .2 points, 60.0% to 37.8%.

Tenure

He served with the Democratic minority within the 108th and 109th Congresses, and was a part of the Democratic majority within the 110th Congress. At the start of the 107th Congress, the Democratic Party was within the minority, but later held the bulk . Carper may be a member of the moderate Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), of which he currently is Vice-Chairman. In December 2004, Carper became a neighborhood of the Senate Democratic Leadership. As a member of a four-person "Executive Committee", hes one among four deputy whips. David Broder of the Washington Post has called Carper "a notably effective and non-partisan leader, admired and trusted on each side of the aisle."

During the 2021 storming of the us Capitol, Carper said he didnt support invoking the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the us Constitution nor impeachment of Trump. But hours later, he called on Trump to resign. He also called the attackers "domestic terrorists." That evening, he voted in support of certifying the 2021 us body vote count.