The other Patrick Murphy is going to run for Marco Rubio’s Senate seat. He’ll make the announcement today and it won’t excite progressives, most of whom are probably hoping that a different Florida congressman, Alan Grayson, will challenge Murphy for the nomination.
Murphy is younger than me, but he and I did attend high school in the same community: me at Princeton High School and Murphy at the elite Lawrenceville School.
His greatest service to the Democratic Party was defeating Allen West in the 2012 election. He carried his Republican district with over 60% of the vote in 2014, and has been one of the best fundraisers around.
His voting record reflects his deep red district, but he has occasionally gone a bit further into the Republican/corporate camp than seems necessary. He supported the Benghazi commission, voted for a congressional override on the Keystone pipeline, opposed a crackdown on for-profit college scam artists, and has voted to trim the Affordable Care Act on the margins, despite opposing its repeal.
It’s hard to predict how he’d vote as a statewide office holder. To use one recent example, Kirsten Gillibrand also had a very centrist voting record when she served in a competitive seat in the House of Representatives, but became much more progressive when she was elected to the Senate. The same thing might happen with Murphy.
Having said that, his father is a Republican and Murphy donated the maximum to Mitt Romney’s 2008 campaign. He appeared to turn against the GOP only after Obama was elected and the Tea Party snapped into existence.
People considering Alan Grayson won’t have to worry very much about how he’ll vote. They have to consider, instead, the way he completely imploded in his first term in office and was absolutely crushed in his then-competitive district. They have to consider his character and whether he’ll sabotage his political career and electability (or re-electability).
Back in 2009, prior to Grayson failing to crack 40% in his first reelection bid, I told you exactly why I didn’t see Grayson as a good fit for competitive seats and why I would never recommend him to my readers. That has not changed, at all. Since then, my suspicions about his political instincts were confirmed by his thumping defeat.
As for my estimation of his character? Well, reading stuff like this doesn’t help.
The bizarre bigamy trial for the estranged wife of Florida Rep. Alan Grayson opened Monday with a day of testimony meant to help prove his spouse was actually wed to another man when the couple exchanged vows 24 years ago.
At stake in the trial — the start of which had been delayed since January after the congressman’s spouse, Lolita Grayson, underwent emergency surgery to have her leaking breast implants removed — is the couple’s $30 million fortune.
So, no, I would never put any eggs in Alan Grayson’s basket. There are things I like about him and he’s certainly smart and entertaining. But given a choice between these two flawed candidates, I’d only tell you: NOT GRAYSON.
If someone else gets in the race, I’d be eager to see if they’re someone I could actually get excited about.
I think Murphy can win this seat regardless of whether or not Rubio runs for reelection. Grayson might be able to win an open seat, but I wouldn’t trust him to keep it even if he did win.
More options, please.