FORT LAUDERDALE — With all due respect, Florida has a political habit of producing high-profile turncoats. In this case, Republican politicians who become Democrats for one reason or another. Former Gov. Charlie Crist of course is the most glaring and recent example.
But after his announcement this week to seek the U.S. Senate seat held by Marco Rubio, U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Jupiter) is now my flavor of the month. He currently represents Florida’s Treasure Coast of Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties and serves on the financial services committee and select committee on intelligence in the House.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, which is arguably the most influential LGBT advocacy organization in the country, the 31-year-old Murphy (who turns 32 on March 30) scores a perfect 100 on the most important national LGBT issues.
According to his staff, here are some of the would-be laws Rep. Murphy has co-sponsored in the House:
- The Respect for Marriage Act would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and require the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages as valid;
- The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity;
- The Student Non-Discrimination Act would prohibit public schools from discriminating against any student on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity;
- Social Security Equality Act would eliminate the policy of the Social Security Administration that prevents same-sex couples from receiving the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts;
- Restore Honor to Service Members Act would ensure that gay and lesbian veterans discharged from the military because of sexual orientation receive the honor and recognition they deserve; and
- Uniting American Families Act would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor their “permanent partners” for residency in the U.S.
As a two-term Democrat since 2011, Murphy’s claim to fame so far is his successful campaign against the truly scary Tea Party Republican Rep. Allen West, who Murphy defeated back in 2012 when Murphy was 29. And Murphy was actually a Mitt Romney Republican before switching parties to run against West.
That race still ranks as the most expensive House race of David versus Goliath in U.S. history, and made Murphy the youngest member of the 113th Congress. Murphy raised $5 million to West’s $21 million. (The only other Democratic candidate to raise a larger sum was reportedly Sean Eldridge of New York, the husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes.)
Murphy went on to beat former state Rep. Carl Domino in 2014. “Washington is full of hyper-partisan politicians who can’t or won’t get anything done and Florida deserves better,” Murphy said in statement this week. His chances to gain the Democratic nomination look pretty good now that Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz of Weston and Crist have both said they aren’t running.
Murphy is a Florida native and mostly grew up in the Keys. He worked as an accountant for Deloitte and Touche and at a Miami construction company owned by his Republican father, Thomas Murphy. He attended the University of Miami and is still single!
Eric Johnson, Murphy’s LGBT chief of staff who was raised in Boca Raton and has been a part of Murphy’s political career since the beginning, explained that Florida Democrats like Murphy and Crist switched parties after many GOP moderates who support popular notions like the minimum wage and a women’s right to choose were left behind. But Murphy doesn’t tow the line for Democrats either on issues like the Keystone Pipeline project and Wall Street regulation.
When it comes to what matters most to the LGBT community politically, “Patrick’s 31. He comes from a generation where these issues are a no-brainer,” said Johnson. “When I was in school, I didn’t know one person who was out. Now they have clubs.”
Johnson, 44, has been partnered for 16 years and got married in October of 2013 in Washington, D.C., explained that Murphy’s father has always supported individuals over party platforms. In fact, Murphy senior was the biggest single contributor to the failed campaign of former state Treasurer Alex Sink against Gov. Rick Scott.
“When I got married, the best phone call I got was from Patrick’s father,” Johnson said.
“For years, Senator Rubio has put the needs of Floridians behind his presidential ambitions.” Here, here, Congressman Murphy. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
