Rep. Stephanie Murphy, who was seriously considering a run for the U.S. Senate before the redistricting process appears to have left the “moderate” congresswoman from Central Florida with no other option but to leave her now-Republican-safe congressional seat, appears to be considering a senate run in 2024.
According to the officially posted House of Representatives calendar, Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D) is concluding her congressional career this week.
If Murphy would have run for reelection, she would have lost her seat to now-Congressman-elect Cory Mills.
After it was redrawn, the district leaned Republican by 7 points, and Mills flipped the seat by defeating Murphy-endorsed candidate Karen Green. By 13 percentage points.
But this is the last time Rep. Murphy decides to make another run for the U.S,. Congress, right?
According to a recent story in the Orlando Sentinel, there could be a pathway to a 2024 senatorial run for Murphy.
“Murphy leaves Congress as a bipartisan dealmaker. Could the 2024 Senate race beckon,” states the media outlet on social media.
Murphy appears to have endorsed the statement by retweeting the Orlando Sentinel story.
Is this an indication that Murphy could challenge Sen. Rick Scott (R) in 2024?
After Murphy was strongly considered a run against Senator Marco Rubio in the 2022 midterm elections, Florida was only given two new congressional districts and not the three that were expected, changing the calculus for many politicians looking to run for congress during this past election cycle.
The redistricting process may have indirectly booted Murphy out of office, as Rep. Val Demings (D) is said to have bullied her way past Murphy to run against Sen. Rubio..
Rep. Demings lost to Sen. Rubio by 16 percentage points.
So, we ask again. Could Murphy make a run against Sen. Scott?
While Murphy sold herself as a moderate Democrat, her voting record shows that she has voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Progressive House “Squad” 90 percent of the time.
"When I was considering running for Congress, @SpeakerPelose called personally to express her confidence in me and to encourage me to take the leap. She has been an inspiration for so many young women and has made our country a better place," tweeted Murphy.
Murphy, who has criticized House Democratic Leadership in the past, has also been the loudest critic of President Donald Trump and sat on the Jan 6 commission, not to mention voting twice to impeach the former president.
“With us being in the majority, that tolerance eroded a bit. It’s unfortunate because I think in order for us as Democrats to hold the majority, you have to be able to win in seats like mine and in redder seats. That means you have to cut your members a little bit of leeway to vote their district. This march towards party unity is going to be detrimental to our ability to lead," said Rep. Murphy.
But while Murphy looks on paper to be a great “moderate” challenger for Democrats to challenge Sen., Scott, raising the money need to defeat him will be a heavy lift.
Scott is a self-funder who can easily stroke a $100 million check to launch his senate reelection campaign next year.
Not only would Scott pen that big check, but national Republicans are also already said to be ready to start pouring tens of millions of dollars into efforts to defend Scott's seat.
What this means is that Scott will have all the money in the world to remind Floridians of Murphy’s voting record while she was in the House of Representatives.
In glancing at Murphy’s record, the retiring congresswoman aligns herself with Democrats on just about every controversial issue, including border security, illegal immigration, government spending, and guns.
