Adam Murphy (Wisconsin)
From Ballotpedia
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Adam Murphy (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Wisconsin. He did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on August 9, 2022.
Murphy (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Wisconsin State Senate to represent District 28. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Murphy completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Murphy was born in Cudahy, Wisconsin. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Murphy's professional experience includes owning Big Bang, LLC—a self-described software company. The company began as a technical training and consulting business before moving into software. Murphy also had his certification as an ISO-9000 quality systems instructor and consultant both with FedEx and independently. He has also studied yoga teacher training. Murphy's organizational affiliations include the Democratic Party and Yoga Alliance.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: United States Senate election in Wisconsin, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Wisconsin
Incumbent Ronald Harold Johnson defeated Mandela Barnes, Adam Nicholas Paul, and Scott Aubart in the general election for U.S. Senate Wisconsin on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ronald Harold Johnson (R) | 50.4 | 1,337,185 |
 | Mandela Barnes (D)  | 49.4 | 1,310,467 | |
| Adam Nicholas Paul (Logic Party) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 67 | ||
| Scott Aubart (American Independent Party) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 4,758 | ||
| Total votes: 2,652,477 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Bradford Spencer (Independent)
- Aaron Frank (Independent)
- Neal Long (L)
- Deliala Gaustad (Patriot Party)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Wisconsin
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Wisconsin on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mandela Barnes | 77.8 | 390,279 |
 | Alex Lasry (Unofficially withdrew) | 8.9 | 44,609 | |
 | Sarah Godlewski (Unofficially withdrew) | 8.1 | 40,555 | |
 | Tom Nelson (Unofficially withdrew) | 2.2 | 10,995 | |
 | Steven Olikara | 1.1 | 5,619 | |
 | Darrell Williams | 0.7 | 3,646 | |
 | Kou Lee | 0.7 | 3,434 | |
 | Peter Peckarsky | 0.5 | 2,446 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 177 | ||
| Total votes: 501,760 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Gillian Battino (D)
- Chris Larson (D)
- Adam Murphy (D)
- Chantia Lewis (D)
- Jeff Rumbaugh (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Wisconsin
Incumbent Ronald Harold Johnson defeated David Schroeder in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Wisconsin on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ronald Harold Johnson | 83.6 | 563,871 |
 | David Schroeder | 16.3 | 109,917 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 693 | ||
| Total votes: 674,481 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- John Berman (R)
- Mike Mangan (R)
- Brad Beyer (R)
- Justin Doty (R)
- Adam Benedetto (R)
2020
See also: Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Wisconsin State Senate District 28
Julian Bradley defeated Adam Murphy in the general election for Wisconsin State Senate District 28 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Julian Bradley (R) | 59.6 | 64,179 |
 | Adam Murphy (D) | 40.3 | 43,391 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 80 | ||
| Total votes: 107,650 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 28
Adam Murphy advanced from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 28 on August 11, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Adam Murphy | 99.8 | 12,556 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 25 | ||
| Total votes: 12,581 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 28
Julian Bradley defeated Steve Bobowski, Dan Griffin, Marina Croft, and Jim Engstrand in the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 28 on August 11, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Julian Bradley | 40.7 | 8,263 |
 | Steve Bobowski | 23.1 | 4,692 | |
 | Dan Griffin | 20.6 | 4,177 | |
 | Marina Croft | 8.0 | 1,623 | |
 | Jim Engstrand | 7.6 | 1,543 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 11 | ||
| Total votes: 20,309 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Daniel Newberry (R)
- Dave Craig (R)
Campaign finance
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Adam Murphy did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Adam Murphy completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Murphy's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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16 years after founding a small international software company - Big Bang LLC - I decided to provide some competition to the GOP candidates who have historically run unopposed in this district. To prepare, I went back to UW-Milwaukee at the age of 47 and have studied topics I believe politicians should understand - economics, logic, moral issues, ethics, constitutional law, political science and philosophy. I became an avid chess player at 14, and so thinking multiple steps ahead and multiple layers deep, is the way my brain works. My goal is always to take an issue down to its most basic question, and then analyze the scenarios from there. Do we think everyone should have healthcare? Is educating our children the most important part of schooling for everyone involved - teachers, students, parents, unions, administration, politicians, and tax payers. There are seven different interests at play in education. Similarly in healthcare, law enforcement, etc. The primary theme of my campaign is these issues require more than 15 second soundbites and memes. They deserve, and require, significant thought and analysis, and I don't care where the ideas and solutions come from. So, while running as a Democrat, I am fiercely independent, and believe that our personal liberties are critical, and that we can make decisions which benefit society and the individual.
- "What if I'm wrong?" I think that's a question we don't ask fequently enough, and politicians in particular. It's more than just maybe the other side is right. What are the consequences if I'm wrong?
- Adam Math - it's what my employees and friends call it when I start delving into the multiple layers of a topic. We need more than a meme to govern.
- We can grow the economy and individual success, but it takes an investment. Wisconsin has stopped investing, and so we are going backwards.
I'd like to see State College made free for residents. The average college grad makes $23,000 more per year than a non-grad. That's good for the economy and the individual. Call is K-16. And for those who don't want to attend college, then we should be paying for training in the trades. The point of the legislature is to look forward when creating laws. Instead, everything has been focused on going back.
Green manufacturing - we have an amazing educational system in UW, and we produce hundreds of patents. Additionally, we have a strong history of experience in manufacturing. I think bringing jobs back via investment into green technologies is an easy sell.
I'm a geek, so I appreciate the stories of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Both incredibly successful, but in utterly different ways. However, Richard Branson impresses me the most. He fully embraces the ideal that business is most successful when the right people are involved. Business is business is business - it's money in, money out, and a product or service in between. But it's the people who make that product or service thrive. He started in the music store business, created a music label, has an airline, is starting a cruiseline, and wants to send tourists into space on Virgin Galactic. His question is this - is the idea a good one, and are the people dedicated to it. And the entire time, his health, his family, and his love for life are critically important. He's a billionaire who cares about so much more than money. I appreciate that, and try to mirror that mindset.
John Rawls - "A Theory of Justice." John Rawls - "Political Liberalism." Richard Branson - "Finding my Virginity." Richard Bach - "Illusions."
Calm, logic, reason, and a willingness to think. I'm a fan of Rawls when it comes to political philosophy. We should respect people's individual rights first and foremost, and then focus on the betterment of society, ideally with as little to no harm to anyone in the process. I think decisions should be made as though the legislator could imagine themselves unaware of their own status - black/white, male/female, sexual orientation, wealth, intelligence, education, etc. In that scenario, the legislator might perhaps make laws which would not negatively impact themselves if they considered themselves the most at risk citizen rather than the most privileged.
Between my opponent and I, I'm the non-partisan one. I'm the one willing to consider other options. Willing to consider the other side. I've played poker in the World Series of Poker over the last 14 years. To be a good poker player requires getting into your opponent's head and understanding what they are thinking. I think that's of incredible value - that ability to think like someone else - to a politician. We need to understand not just "the other side" but ourselves as well. When I was 16, I took my first meditation course. I've been actively practicing meditation for over 30 years, and teaching it along the way as well. The neural pathways of my brain are literally wired to be calm, and to analyze why I think what I think. I guarantee, I will delve deeper and see more connections associated with a topic than the vast majority of politicians who only see what their party wants them to see, and only think what their party wants them to think.
Make good decisions for the people of Wisconsin. It doen't really get much easier than that.
One of intelligent decisions made for the betterment of society.
The biggest was probably the space shuttle challenger explosion. I was in high school - probably a freshman - and we had a TV in the room as we were watching a video in a Religious Values class. We turned the TV on when they made the announcement over the PA system. I was 14 years old.
I started at Federal Express (FedEx) in 1990 as a cargo handler at the Milwaukee airport, loading planes and trucks in the middle of the night. While there, I wrote a simple computer program designed to make my work, and that of my co-workers, easier. My manager recognized the potential, and rather than taking credit for himself, he pushed it up the ladder. At 19 years old, I was meeting with VPs of FedEx. The estimate was that it saved FedEx $1 million per year, and it got me noticed. Ten years later, after working as a database developer and training, I left to start my own business. That software program was still being used. My experience at FedEx, as PCs were beginning to replace the roles of mainframes and green screen monitors, directly led to my opportunity to strike out on my own. 20 years later, i still appreciate the opportunities I was able to take advantage of.
Illusions by Richard Bach. It's short - read it. Then you'll understand.
"Boom Boom Boom Boom" - John Lee Hooker
Honesty, I've had an incredibly charmed life. Happily married for 21 years. A successful business for nearly 20, which has allowed my wife and I to travel the world while also being fortunate enough to be able to help family, friends, and causes dear to those people. Was it perfect? Of course not. My mother was a young single mother, and my biological father was out of the picture by the time I was two. My step father was unfortunately an alcoholic, and he died at 66 after being sick for nearly ten years. It was not always easy. I went to eight different grade schools, but my parents vowed to keep me in one high-school, and they did. I went to Pius XI in Wauwatosa, despite living in South Milwaukee. It wasn't uncommon to have an hour and half long bus ride each way to school when my grandfather couldn't drive me. But, Pius was amazing, and unlike so many people, I loved my high school experience, and graduated near the top of my class. My first foray into college was less than successful though. I was accepted to multiple engineering schools, and eventually chose to go to UW-Madison. Unfortunately, I was distracted by the juggling guild and "freedom," and left after just a couple semesters. I tried again a year later at UW-Milwaukee, and while I had much better success, my career at FedEx offered more potential at the moment than college, and so I left again. I don't regret not having my degree - plenty of people do very well - but it may have made some things easier. That said, 28 years later, I've enjoyed my return immensely because the subjects matter to me, and I've got experience with them. I had and A/B in economics when I took it at 18 years old, but it didn't mean much. The multiple econ courses I've taken to prepare for office though, had been incredibly impactful, because economics is important to me as a business owner. Different time, same subject, very different outcome.
I understand the original appeal of bicameral legislation. I don't necessarily think it's important any more. Look at WI - each senate district is comprised of 3 assembly districts. That doesn't allow for deliberation and debate. If one party controls one, it's likely they will control the other. I wouldn't be opposed to changing the terms to 4 years and 8 years with elections every two years. That might allow for some variation, but overall, I don't see a difference between the two here in Wisconsin.
I think it's beneficial to have politicians who want to and can learn. There are always going to be new people in office. It's the nature of the beast. In preparation for running, I've spent two years going back to college at 47 years old. I've completed 18 courses - and fully graded - in topics I think politicians should know about - economics, logic, statistics, constitutional law, political science and philosophy, ethics and morals. I don't think a degree is necessary, but I think drive and intelligence are necessary.
Healthcare, the environment, jobs, and racism. Wisconsin, and Milwaukee in particular are among the most racially divided communities in the country. Manufacturing jobs are not only being lost outside the US, but mostly to automation. Legislators need to be the ones looking into the future and planning for that, instead of wishing for the good old days. I think we can take on the scientific and manufacturing challenges of green technologies to help WI grow. That leads back to the environment. We've got to combat climate change, and we are seeing the damage it causes right now. Lake Michigan is at or near record highs after being at or near record lows just a few years ago. Shores, cliffs, and homes are being decimated. Rivers are flooding regularly. But, with the right education, jobs, and technology, we can make an impact. Finally, healthcare matters to jobs, education, crime, and so many more factors. We need to ensure the health and well being of our citizens, as a basic right.
If everything is going well, the governor, as the executive branch, has the job of making things run in the "now." As I said, the legislature needs to look to the future and plan for it. The executive makes it happen now. They are different animals, and at least recently, the legislature has tried to take an active role in the "now" and is utterly ignoring the future.
Absolutely. I don't think the GOP has shown any interest in doing so in the last ten years, here in Wisconsin, unfortunately. Once upon a time, we could work together. The Democrats still appear willing to cross the aisle. The Republicans have proven repeatedly they have no interest. That's the problem with politics right now.
A non-partisan group should do it ideally, or an equal bi-partisan group at worst. In Wisconsin, the GOP claimed 64% of the seats with only 46% of the vote. That's ridiculous.
I've not considered it. As a junior member, who tends to buck the system a bit, we shall see.
I do think, to an extent, the Democratic party has become a bit stagnant - at least in what it portrays to the public. Look at the Wisconsin State Democrat platform. The 2018 platform was the same as 2016, 2014, 2012, and maybe further. (2020 hasn't been released.) I don't think they've updated their strategy sufficiently to challenge the changes the Republicans have made.
I loved William Proxmire.
This is my first foray into office. If the circumstances were right, perhaps. And if not, it's not my ambition. I'm doing this because I think it's the right thing to do - to challenge the status quo of the uncontested GOP control here in Wisconsin. If that appeals to voters, then we will see where it leads.
I've heard from several residents in this very aggressively Republican district, that they fear for their business or their lives if they were to admit to being anything but a Trump supporter. That's shocking and so disturbing. One said, "I'm voting for you, but I won't say anything, because they have all the guns." That's insane.
And on the flip side, a rabid Trump supporter said to me, "If I had a genie and only one with, I would wish all the Antifa and BLM supporters wiped off the face of the planet. That would be my American dream." I don't even know what to say to that. It's horrendous.
And on the flip side, a rabid Trump supporter said to me, "If I had a genie and only one with, I would wish all the Antifa and BLM supporters wiped off the face of the planet. That would be my American dream." I don't even know what to say to that. It's horrendous.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 24, 2020
Current members of the Wisconsin State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Mary Felzkowski
Majority Leader:Devin LeMahieu
Minority Leader:Dianne Hesselbein
Senators
District 1
André Jacque (R)
District 2
Eric Wimberger (R)
District 3
Tim Carpenter (D)
District 4
Dora Drake (D)
District 5
Rob Hutton (R)
District 6
LaTonya Johnson (D)
District 7
Chris Larson (D)
District 8
Jodi Sinykin (D)
District 9
Devin LeMahieu (R)
District 10
Rob Stafsholt (R)
District 11
Stephen Nass (R)
District 12
Mary Felzkowski (R)
District 13
John Jagler (R)
District 14
Sarah Keyeski (D)
District 15
Mark Spreitzer (D)
District 16
Melissa Ratcliff (D)
District 17
Howard Marklein (R)
District 18
Kristin Alfheim (D)
District 19
District 20
Dan Feyen (R)
District 21
Van Wanggaard (R)
District 22
Robert Wirch (D)
District 23
Jesse James (R)
District 24
Patrick Testin (R)
District 25
Romaine Quinn (R)
District 26
Kelda Roys (D)
District 27
District 28
Julian Bradley (R)
District 29
Cory Tomczyk (R)
District 30
Jamie Wall (D)
District 31
Jeff Smith (D)
District 32
Brad Pfaff (D)
District 33
Chris Kapenga (R)
Republican Party (18)
Democratic Party (15)
Senators
Tammy Baldwin (D)
Ronald Johnson (R)
Representatives
District 1
Bryan Steil (R)
District 2
Mark Pocan (D)
District 3
District 4
Gwen Moore (D)
District 5
Scott Fitzgerald (R)
District 6
Glenn Grothman (R)
District 7
Tom Tiffany (R)
District 8
Tony Wied (R)
Republican Party (7)
Democratic Party (3)
