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Pat Murphy, a 32-year-old Iraq veteran, is a first-time candidate
who is touting his military service as all the experience necessary
for a seat in the U.S. House.
Murphy, a captain in the U.S. Army who served in Bosnia in 2002
and in Iraq from 2003 to 2004, said his service in Iraq will help
him represent Pennsylvania's 8th District.
 "I
am keenly aware of how security, military operations, and local
politics are woven into a complex web of challenges that often
defy simple solutions," Murphy wrote on his campaign Web
site.
Murphy comes from a military family -- his father, brother and
two of his uncles also served -- and taught constitutional law
at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Deployment in Iraq, Murphy said, exposed him to the problems
of the Bush administration's policies there. "What I saw
with my own eyes and walked with my own combat boots in Baghdad,
Iraq was what was going on, and the need to change," Murphy
told a local television station. "And it's not just a change
of direction in Iraq, but it's here at home as well."
With public opinion turning against the war, Murphy has made
the war a critical cornerstone of his campaign. His opponent,
first-term Republican incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick, backed the President
Bush's policy in Iraq until early August when he revoked his support
for the administration's "stay the course" policy.
Murphy has called for bringing American troops home from Iraq
this year, says the federal government should fully funding stem
cell research and supports reproductive rights. Also, given the
corruption scandal flaring around former lobbyist Jack Abramoff,
he has called for reforming ethics in Congress.
These positions helped him win the Democratic nomination, defeating
his challengers Fred Viskovich, also a strong dissenter of the
war, and Andy Warren, a former county commissioner with 30 years
of public service.
Murphy graduated from Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg,
Pa. and worked in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office
and the Harrisburg Civil Law Clinic. He is lawyer at Cozen O'Connor
and is married to Jennifer Murphy, a tax attorney.
Although new to running for office, Murphy has links to the Democratic
Party through his previous jobs as a legislative aide to Democratic
Rep. Thomas Tangretti and as part of the presidential campaign
for Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.
Now that Murphy's name is on the ballot, the Democratic Party
has backed his nomination. High-profile Democrats have offered
Murphy their support, including Kerry who said that "Congress
is on the wrong track and Patrick Murphy is ready to bring change
to Washington."
Money may play an important roll in the race as Murphy faces
a well-funded Republican in Fitzpatrick.
"Mr. Fitzpatrick agrees basically with this president, this
Republican administration, and that's why they've fully funded
his race," Murphy told the Newshour. "The Republican
Congress is worried about keeping power. That's why we need a
change."
-- Compiled by Kaelin O'Connell
for the Online NewsHour
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