Senator Chris Murphy’s “emergency” message about Trump is connecting with Democratic voters
Saxapahu, N.C. (AP) – Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy hasn’t attracted stadium-sized crowds like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as he visited the country he talked to voters. But in a rural North Carolina filled with concert halls, people began to see the Democrats as Democrats worthy of the national focus.
Murphy and Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla). Hudson, chairman of the Republican campaign division of the House, dissuaded Republicans from holding City Hall, so Murphy and Frost decided to hold one in their North Carolina homeland.
“We are doing these jobs that Republican congressmen and senators won’t do,” Murphy told the hype crowd of most older voters at the event, while acknowledging that Democrats need to do more to ease their anxiety and fight back against President Donald Trump. “I want to make sure that in every corner of this country, people are willing to stand up and fight.”
Unsure of how to face him when other Democrats grasp the response to Trump’s election, Murphy is bringing his frustration and anger into ongoing television appearances, fundraising appeals, Senate speeches and events like an event in North Carolina. He also talks directly to voters on social media, including through lengthy live videos on Instagram where he sat in the kitchen with cocktails and tried to explain what he thinks he thinks is the “central story” of President Trump’s presidency – “Billionaires take over our administration made us possible by destroying our democracy.”
It's a methodical approach to Murphy, 51, a thoughtful lawmaker who has been known for years to stop gun violence after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 20 first-year students and six educators.
Although the kitchen’s Instagram conversation seemed more natural than Murphy than harassing the crowd, his message clearly resonated with his party’s voter base, many of whom were angry that Washington Democrats were doing nothing. He raised about $8 million in the first quarter of this year, which could compete with Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, who attracted a larger crowd on the tour.
“I mean, I’m not Bernie Sanders,” Murphy said in an interview in Saxapahaw. “I won't attract 70,000 people. But that doesn't mean I still have no obligation to try to go out and support national mobilization.”
Last month, Democratic leaders attributed much of the anger of New York Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who voted to remain open to the Republican bill, just as the base wants to see more struggles for its elected officials. Murphy strongly opposed the bill, even if opposing it means that Democrats will trigger the government's closure.
“I think when people see us engaging in risk-adverse behavior, they are unlikely to attend the rally and end up engaging in civil disobedience to save democracy,” Murphy said.
His fundraising activities and attacks from his media and events have raised questions about his future ambitions. But it is not clear where Murphy's moment might be. He insists that after Illinois' second Democratic Senator Dick Durbin announced this week that he would retire next year, he has not considered a presidential bid for Senate leaders or the future of Senate leaders.
“I don't think it's a coincidence that my content is breaking through, and that when I don't get up every day, more people are listening to me,” Murphy said, who went to the Senate last year.
“If we don’t win this battle now, there will be no elections in 2028. So it seems a bit silly to consider anything other than the emergency that exists today. I’m not trying to avoid problems. It’s not a policeman.
Ron Osborne, chairman of the Alamance County Democratic Party, where Thursday’s event was, said he had previously considered Murphy as the president’s main contender by 2028. But “He’s doing the right thing,” Osborne said.
“He's saying that others can do the same thing without doing the same thing, and it takes courage,” Osborne said.
Terry Greenlund, 78, also among the audience, said Murphy “has a way to talk to people.”
“I think it’s time for the new generation to move in with some new perspectives and insight and energy,” Greenlund said.
Murphy, 51, and his two teenage father seem to be enjoying the attention. He joked that he might not be as “cool” as Frost, a 28-year-old MP. But Murphy is still several decades younger than many colleagues who have controlled the party for years.
“I think it’s cool to be a dad,” Murphy said.
Murphy was in Missouri on Friday after visiting Michigan's Republican district last month. They aren't the only Democrats who ventured into the Red Country. In addition to Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, 2024 vice president nominee and California Rep. Ro Khanna, also recently traveled to talk to voters in the Republican area.
Murphy said he didn't want to “reinvent the wheel” with fundraising drag, but he didn't want to sit on it either. He said he plans to help organizations mobilize voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and put pressure on Republicans as they try to push for tax and spending cuts.
“History tells us that the only way you can prevent elected leaders from staying away from democracy is by mass mobilization,” he said.
“Our party made mistakes and if we don't learn from these mistakes, we're cooked.”
