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Newtown Bee - For Congress
Oct 31, 10:19 AM
When Democrat Chris Murphy was first elected by Fifth District voters to Congress two years ago, he beat veteran Republican lawmaker Nancy Johnson, who had spent 24 years representing first the now-extinct Sixth District and later the Fifth District. Certainly, Mr Murphy got a big boost in 2006 from an unpopular Republican administration and various Republican corruption scandals. But he recognized from the outset that the Fifth District is a swing district — sometimes it goes Democratic, sometimes Republican. The young Democrat from Cheshire made his best pitch to the middle of the political spectrum and was rewarded for it.
This year, Democrats seem to have the wind at their backs once again. His opponent, David Cappiello, who has distinguished himself in the State Senate, has had a hard time coming up with convincing arguments why voters should replace the incumbent.
Mr. Murphy is still running as more of a pragmatist than partisan. He was among a group of Congressmen and women who pushed for a compromise on offshore drilling while also working to extend Amtrak rail service in the Northeast, addressing both the future and the present of the region’s energy woes. He also has taken his cue from Mrs Johnson and her predecessor in the Fifth District, Jim Maloney, by emphasizing constituent services, building a base of support and communication in the district that should serve him, and us, well for the next two
years. We endorse his reelection.
