After serving Connecticut’s fifth congressional district for six years, Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) was elected to the Senate in 2012. On March 30 Murphy announced he will be running for a third term in 2024. Murphy was elected just weeks before the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012. In the past decade he has worked to eliminate gun violence. Murphy said, “the tragedy motivated him to prioritize passing gun reforms, which have stalled in Congress for years.”
“I’m planning on running for reelection. I don’t know that I’ll do a big splashy announcement, but I’m certainly, you know, starting up the process of standing up a campaign,” Sen. Murphy said to News 8. “I love this job. I really do. This is obviously a state that I grew up in. My parents grew up [in], and I think I’m getting better at the job as time goes on, not worse.”
After months of negotiation, Murphy helped pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in June 2022. It had been decades since Congress last passed gun safety legislation. Despite it leaving out the priorities and concerns of Democrats, including Murphy, it was still a step in the right direction.
Murphy said he is “determined to right another wrong” with his upcoming reelection. He made a strong statement by promising to not accept any corporate or political action committee donations during his most recent Senate campaign.
In a video posted to Twitter, Murphy said, “I’m not going to raise money for this campaign the way that Washington says that I’m supposed to. I’m not going to take corporate money. I’m not going to accept [Political Action Committee] (PAC) money… I’m not going to use fear tactics or hyperbole to scare people into donating.”
Murphy explained that it’s a risk to accept money from corporations and PAC’s. He says the gun industry and special interests will be breathing down his neck. He also says that the fight against the gun lobby is a risk, but it’s one that he feels is worth taking.
Murphy has been quite successful winning his past two Senate races by double-digit margins, such as in 2012 when Murphy ran for Senate against Republican Linda McMahon, despite the latter spending tens of millions of her own money in campaigns against Murphy and Blumenthal. Murphy also ran for reelection in 2018, defeating Republican Matthew Corey as well.
Murphy’s opponent Robert Hyde has also said that he will run for Senate in 2024. Hyde is a landscaper who did not qualify for the Republican Senate primary in 2022, and was charged with a DUI, but said he still plans on running.
Murphy’s plans are to focus on the Senate and to continue to work on gun safety over other national ambitions. He said “I have seen this year what a difference I can make in this job, it feels like my efforts can be best exerted in the senate. Right now, my focus is on the Senate and growing this movement.”