Thomas Richard Carper (born January 23, 1947) is an American politician and former military officer who served from 2001 to 2025 as a United States senator from Delaware.

A member of the Democratic Party, Carper served from 1983 to 1993 in the United States House of Representatives and from 1993 to 2001 as the 71st governor of Delaware.

Serving as a naval flight officer in the U.S. Navy from 1968 until 1973, he flew the P-3 Orion as a tactical coordinator and mission commander[1] and saw active duty in the Vietnam War.

He was elected state treasurer, serving from 1977 to 1983 and leading the development of Delaware's first cash management system.

Encouraged by local politicians, Carper successfully ran for Delaware's only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982.

In 1976, after developing good relationships with members of the state party leadership, he took out a $5,000 personal loan to fund his campaign to be Treasurer of Delaware.

Senator Joe Biden and other prominent Democrats convinced Carper to run for Delaware's only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Incumbent Republican Thomas B. Evans Jr. sought reelection, and although he had been caught in a compromising "association" on a golfing trip with the lobbyist Paula Parkinson, was still considered a strong candidate.

But when rumors spread that the story was "planted" by a supporter of Evans, Carper bounced back, with public opinion seeming to be that the allegations inappropriately exploited private issue.

This included the prevention of the closure of the General Motors automobile operation near Newport, Delaware, and convincing pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to construct its new headquarters in the state.

As a result, by the end of his last term, Delaware held the highest per-capita ratio of youth mentors in the country.

Due to term limits, Carper had to retire as governor in 2000, and sought election to the U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican William Roth, declaring his candidacy in September 1999.

The Hill quoted Patrick Davis, the custodian of records and agent for Renew Delaware as saying, "Tom Carper has served in the United States Senate for a long time and has been part of the downturn in our economy."

Delaware Politics noted that the election would be costly for the Republican candidate and that Carper was heavily favored to win a third term.

"[12] Carper won the Democratic primary with 88% of the vote and faced off against the only Republican candidate who filed for the race, businessman Kevin Wade.

David Broder of The Washington Post has called Carper "a notably effective and non-partisan leader, admired and trusted on both sides of the aisle.

[32] After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, he said the decision was "unconscionably cruel and wrong" and that it was a "dark day for our country and our Constitution.

"[33] In April 2019, Carper was one of thirty-four senators to sign a letter to President Trump encouraging him "to listen to members of your own Administration and reverse a decision that will damage our national security and aggravate conditions inside Central America", asserting that Trump had "consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S. foreign assistance" since becoming president and that he was "personally undermining efforts to promote U.S. national security and economic prosperity" through preventing the use of Fiscal Year 2018 national security funding.

[34] In January 2024, Carper voted against a resolution, proposed by Bernie Sanders, to apply the human rights provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act to U.S. aid to Israel's military.

[35] In March 2024, Carper led a letter to the Biden administration urging the U.S. to recognize a "nonmilitarized" Palestinian state after the war in Gaza.

[37] Carper joined 23 other Senate Democrats in signing a letter supporting Obama taking executive action to reduce gun violence.

[40] In response to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, Carper called for more gun laws, specifically background checks and mental health screenings.

In 2012, Carper sponsored a bill, eventually passed and signed into law, that required government agencies to identify $125 billion in expected waste and fraud.

[43] Carper and George Voinovich of Ohio proposed a 25-cent raise in the federal gasoline tax; 10 cents would go to pay down the debt and the rest toward improving the nation's infrastructure.

On May 14, 2011, The Wall Street Journal criticized a postal-bailout bill co-sponsored by Carper and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

The center would also identify vulnerabilities and help secure key private networks – like utilities and communications systems – that, if attacked or commandeered by a foreign power or cyberterrorists, could result in the crippling of our economy.

[53] On September 21, 2011, The Wall Street Journal noted that President Obama's job-creation plans were drawing resistance from Senate Democrats.

The bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to $10.10 per hour over the course of a two-year period.

[57] On March 5, 2021, Carper voted against Bernie Sanders's amendment to include a $15/hour minimum wage in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

[68] In August 2023, Congresstrading.com tweeted that Carper, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, made an inverse Nasdaq ETF purchase, a short sell option for investors looking to hedge against or profit from a decline in the index.