Patrick Murphy (Pennsylvania politician)

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Patrick Murphy (Pennsylvania politician) bigraphy, stories - American politician

Patrick Murphy (Pennsylvania politician) : biography

October 19, 1973 –

Patrick Joseph Murphy (born October 19, 1973) is a former politician from Pennsylvania. He was the U.S. Representative for from 2007 to 2011. He lost re-election in 2010. He then ran for state Attorney General in 2012, but lost in the Democratic Primary.

Military career

In 2000, Murphy went on active duty in the Army, joining the military faculty at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he taught constitutional law. He has also lectured at the U.S. Air Force Academy, the International Institute for Humanitarian Rights in Sanremo, Italy, and at Widener. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, Murphy volunteered for overseas deployment, serving in Bosnia (2002) and in Baghdad during the Iraq War (2003–2004). While in Baghdad as a JAG Corps attorney with the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, Murphy worked to reconstruct the justice system and helped prosecute Sheik Moyad, a lieutenant of Muqtada al-Sadr. A graduate of the U.S. Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, dual Qualified as a Basic Parachutist and in Air Assault, Murphy was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service. Following his service in Iraq, he returned to Fort Bragg and continued his service as a JAG officer before being released from active duty in 2004.

Post-Congress career

After being defeated for re-election in November, 2010, Murphy became a partner at Philadelphia law firm Fox Rothschild in the litigation departmentFox Rothschild (2011). . Retrieved June 28, 2011. and an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law.Widener Law (2011). . Retrieved June 28, 2011.

On April 26, 2011, Patrick Murphy was awarded the John F. Kennedy Jr. Award from the Brown University Democrats.Events at Brown:

In June 2011, President Obama appointed Murphy to the United States Military Academy’s Board of Visitors.Wall Street Journal: , accessed June 29, 2011

On March 20, 2013, Murphy made his first official appearance as an MSNBC contributor on The Rachel Maddow Show.

Political campaigns

2006 election

In 2005, Murphy decided to challenge Republican incumbent Representative Mike Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district as a Fighting Dem, building his campaign around "Murphy Plans" for Iraq, ethics reform, online protection, and a GI Bill of Rights.

On May 16, 2006, he won the Democratic primary with about 65% of the vote, against Andrew Warren, a former county commissioner and ex-Republican who badly trailed Murphy in campaign funds.

Polls taken in October, 2006, generally showed a tight race between Murphy and Fitzpatrick. On election day, Murphy’s campaign, led by campaign manager Scott Fairchild and GOTV Director Brent Welder, engaged in a massive get-out-the-vote effort with over 2000 volunteers knocking on 160,000 doors. The resulting high turnout in Democratic lower Bucks County and Philadelphia, combined with surprisingly strong returns for Murphy in Republican upper Bucks County, was enough to push Murphy over Fitzpatrick 125,656 to 124,138. Murphy narrowly lost the Bucks County portion of the district (116,669 to 115,645), but decisively won the Philadelphia County portion (6,024 to 5,048) and the Montgomery County portion (3,987 to 2,421). Overall, he received 50.3% of the vote. Murphy was helped by a large national Democratic "wave" that swept 31 new Democrats into Congress, enabling the Democrats to win control of the U.S. House for the first time since 1994.United States elections, 2006#United States House of Representatives

2008 election

Murphy faced Republican Tom Manion, a retired Marine Corps Reserve Colonel and executive at Johnson & Johnson, as well as independent Tom Lingenfelter. Significant national attention was drawn to the race because of both candidates’ connections to the Iraq War. Murphy is an Iraq War veteran and a strong critic of Bush’s war strategy. Manion, whose son (1st Lt Travis Manion, USMC) was killed in Iraq in April 2007, supports the Iraq War Surge.