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Chris Murphy (Connecticut)

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Christopher S. Murphy
Christopher S. Murphy.jpg
U.S. Senate, Connecticut
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 2013-present
Term ends
January 3, 2019
Years in position 0
PartyDemocratic
PredecessorJoe Lieberman (I)
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First elected2012
Next electionNovember 2018
Campaign $$19,196,198
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
U.S. House of Representatives, Connecticut, District 5
2007-2013
Connecticut State Senate, 16th District
Connecticut House of Representatives, 81st District
1999-2002
Education
High schoolWethersfield High School
Bachelor'sWilliams College
J.D.University of Connecticut School of Law
Personal
BirthdayAugust 3, 1973
Place of birthWhite Plains, New York
ProfessionAttorney
Net worth$7,502
ReligionChristian
Websites
Office website
Campaign website
Christopher S. Murphy campaign logo

Contents

Christopher Scott "Chris" Murphy (b. August 3, 1973) is a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Connecticut. Murphy was first elected to the Senate in 2012.

Murphy served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Connecticut's 5th congressional district, from 2007-2013.

Murphy won the 2012 election for the U.S. Senate, representing Connecticut instead of seeking re-election in the U.S. House. He defeated Susan Bysiewicz in the Democratic primary on August 14, 2012. Murphy defeated Linda McMahon (R) in the general election.[1][2]

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Murphy was a "rank-and-file Democrat" while in the U.S. House.[3]

Biography

Murphy grew up in Connecticut, and attended Williams College in Massachusetts, graduating with honors and a double major in history and political science. In 2002, he graduated from UConn Law School in Hartford, Connecticut. He practiced real estate and banking law from 2002-2006 with the firm of Ruben, Johnson & Morgan in Hartford.[4]

Career

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

Murphy serves on the following Senate committees[5]:

U.S. House of Representatives

2011-2012

Murphy served on the following committees:[6]

Issues

Campaign themes

2012

Murphy's campaign website listed the following issues:[7]

  • Jobs & The Economy
Excerpt: "Chris believes in common-sense ways to grow businesses and get people back to work in Connecticut. He developed his approach by listening to Connecticut’s employees and employers."
  • Buy American Laws
Excerpt: "Manufacturing has made the American economy the most vibrant and successful in the world. American manufacturers are known throughout the world to have highest quality goods, made by the best workers. These manufacturing jobs are the back bone of the American middle class, and have provided an economic ladder to millions of American families here in Connecticut."
  • Health Care
Excerpt: "I support health care reform because I believe that quality, affordable health care coverage should be a right, not a privilege available only to those who can afford it. I truly believe that a national system of health care can insure every American and cost us less than our current bloated and inefficient “sick care” system."
  • Education
Excerpt: "I believe all children deserve an opportunity to attend quality public schools and to be taught by quality teachers. A sound system of public education is not only America’s promise to its citizens but the foundation of its economic prosperity. "
  • Women’s Health and Equality
Excerpt: "Despite all the successes achieved by the fight for gender equality during the last 100 years, social conservatives have now renewed their fight to roll back gains made for women’s health and economic equality. The right to choose is under attack, access to affordable quality healthcare and reproductive services is out of reach for a growing number of American women, gender-based violence persists, and women are still paid less than their male counterparts."

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" Murphy voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[8]

Elections

2012

U.S. Senate

See also: United States Senate elections in Connecticut, 2012

Murphy won the 2012 election for the U.S. Senate, representing Connecticut instead of seeking re-election in the U.S. House. Murphy defeated Susan Bysiewicz in the primary election on August 14, 2012.[1] Murphy defeated Linda McMahon (R) and Paul Passarelli (L) in the general election.[9]

Endorsements

Murphy received endorsements from The Connecticut American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) on June 26, 2012.[10] In addition, Murphy received endorsements from:[10]

Murphy Hedge Fund accusations

On July 19, 2012 Susan Bysiewicz began airing an ad that took aim at her rival for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, Murphy.[11] The problem was, Bysiewicz made an error and was actually attacking Murphy based on information about former Congressman Scott Murphy (D-NY).[11]

The ad accused Murphy of taking “more hedge fund money than any Democrat in Congress.”[11] In 2010, the top Democratic recipient of hedge fund contributions was Scott Murphy (D-NY), but not Murphy (D-CT) as the ad falsely claimed.[11]

2010

U.S. House

On November 2, 2010, Murphy won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Sam S.F. Caligiuri (R), John Pistone (I), and Elmon Smith (I) in the general election.[12]

U.S. House of Representatives, Connecticut's 5th Congressional District, General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark.jpgChristopher S. Murphy Incumbent 53.7% 118,231
     Republican Sam S.F. Caligiuri 46.3% 102,092
     Independent John Pistone 0% 20
     Independent Elmon Smith 0% 2
Total Votes 220,345

Polls

2012

Christopher Murphy v. Linda McMahon
Response Public Policy Polling
(July 26-29, 2012)		Rasmussen Reports
(August 21, 2012)		Quinnipiac University
(August 22-26, 2012)		Rasmussen Reports
(October 9, 2012)		Siena Research Institute
(October 17, 2012)		RealClearPolitics
(October 15-17, 2012)		Qunnipiac University
(October 24, 2012)		Rasmussen Reports
(October 29, 2012)		Average
Christopher S. Murphy 50%46%49%51%46%44%49%51% 48.25%
Linda McMahon 42%49%46%46%44%44%43%45% 44.875%
Undecided/Other candidate 8%6%4%3%8%12%8%4% 6.625%
Number polled 7715001,472500552625500 615
Margin of error +/-3.5+/-4.5%+/-2.6%+/-4.5%+/-4.2%+/-4%+/-4.5% 3.48%
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org
Connecticut's Democratic Senate Primary Candidates
Response Quinnipiac University Poll
(May 29-June 3, 2012)		Public Policy Polling
(July 26-29, 2012)		Average
Christopher Murphy 50%49% 49.5%
Susan Bysiewicz 20%32% 26%
Number polled 1,408771 1,089.5
Margin of error +/-2.6+/-4.9% 3.75%
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Murphy is available dating back to 2006. Based on available campaign finance records, Murphy raised a total of $19,196,198 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 25, 2013.[13]

Chris Murphy (Connecticut)'s Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2012 US Senate (Connecticut) Won $10,543,456
2010 US House (Connecticut, District 5) Won $3,034,971
2008 US House (Connecticut, District 5) Won $3,080,818
2006 US House (Connecticut, District 5) Won $2,536,953
Grand Total Raised $19,196,198

2012

Murphy won election to the U.S. Senate in 2012. During that election cycle, Murphy's campaign committee raised a total of $10,543,456 and spent $10,436,219.[14]

2010

Breakdown of the source of Murphy's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Murphy won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Murphy's campaign committee raised a total of $3,034,971 and spent $3,079,678.[15]


Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Murphy missed 0 of 92 roll call votes from January 2013 to March 2013. This amounts to 0.00%, which is better than the median of 1.7% among currently serving as of March 2013.[16]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Murphy paid his congressional staff a total of $924,533 in 2011. He ranked 35th on the list of the lowest paid Democratic Representative Staff Salaries and he ranked 170th overall of the lowest paid Representative Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Connecticut ranked 4th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[17]

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Murphy's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between -$79,994 and $94,998. That averages to $7,502, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Senators in 2011 of $20,795,450. His average net worth decreased by 91.71% from 2010.[18]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Murphy's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $-28,992 and $209,998. That averages to $90,503, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2010 of $4,465,875.[19]

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Murphy ranked 114th in the liberal rankings in 2012.[20]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Murphy ranked 103rd in the liberal rankings.[21]

Political Positions

Percentage voting with party

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Christopher S. Murphy voted with the Democratic Party 92 of the time, which ranked 111 among the 192 House Democratic members in November 2011.[22]

Personal

On August 18, 2007, Congressman Murphy married Cathy Holahan, a legal aid attorney who represents children in need in New Britain and Waterbury. Chris, Cathy, and their son Owen reside in Cheshire, Connecticut. [4]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Christopher + Murphy + Connecticut + House

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Christopher Murphy News Feed


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External links


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 AP Results "U.S. Senate Elections Results" Accessed August 14, 2012
  2. ↑ ABC News "2012 General Election Results"
  3. ↑ Gov Track "Murphy" Accessed May 15, 2012
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Chris Murphy "Biography" Accessed October 15, 2011
  5. ↑ Congressional Quarterly "Senate Committee List" Accessed January 22, 2013
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chris Murphy "Committees" Accessed October 15, 2011
  7. ↑ Campaign website, Issues
  8. ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  9. ↑ ABC News "2012 General Election Results"
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chris Murphy for Senate "Press Release: Over 200,000 Working Men & Women Endorse Chris Murphy for Senate" Accessed June 27, 2012
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Chris Murphy for U.S. Senate "Another Bysiewicz Disaster: Attack Ad Hits Wrong Murphy" Accessed July 20, 2012
  12. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  13. ↑ Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for Chris Murphy," Accessed March 25, 2013
  14. ↑ Open Secrets "Chris Murphy 2012 Election Cycle," Accessed February 19, 2013
  15. ↑ Open Secrets "Christopher S. Murphy 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed November 8, 2011
  16. ↑ GovTrack, "Chris Murphy," Accessed March 29, 2013
  17. ↑ LegiStorm "Christopher Murphy"
  18. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Murphy, (D-Conn), 2011"
  19. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Murphy, (D-Conn), 2010"
  20. ↑ National Journal, "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," February 21, 2013
  21. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  22. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
Political offices
Preceded by
Joe Lieberman (I) 		U.S. Senate
2013-present 		Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
Nancy Johnson 		U.S. House of Representatives - Connecticut, District 5
2007–2013 		Succeeded by
Elizabeth Esty (D)
Preceded by
' 		Connecticut State Senate, 16th District
2003-2006 		Succeeded by
'
Preceded by
' 		Connecticut House of Representatives, 81st District
1999-2002 		Succeeded by
-
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