In a GOP year, Murphy vows bipartisanship

With time running out to find a challenger to longtime Republican U.S. Rep. John Mica earlier this year, Democrats approached Rollins College professor Stephanie Murphy — not to ask her to run, but to seek her opinion on who should run. But the more they talked to her, the more they liked what they saw.

“They were so impressed with her, they said,

should run.’ ” said Christie Stephenson, deputy communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Murphy, a 37-year-old former strategy consultant with a background in the U.S. Department of Defense, had never run for political office before, but the Democrats’ gamble paid off.

Her victory over Mica on Election Day was a bright spot for a Democratic Party reeling from defeats elsewhere. Now, Murphy — a former refugee, and the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to Congress — is preparing to head to Washington as a rising Democratic star in a capital about to become entirely controlled by Republicans.

“It’s awe-inspiring and humbling,” Murphy said. “But I’m also excited for the opportunity to serve this district. … My voice and my experience will be one that will be heard in Washington.”

And yet as the June filing deadline for candidates approached, Mica — in office for almost 24 years — had no Democratic challenger running against him in District 7.

The DCCC sent out dozens of releases critical of Mica, but was still unable to find their own candidate. The Orange County Democratic chair even raised the possibility of enticing someone running in an entirely different district to shift over to 7, a district that became much more Democratic after a court-ordered redistricting.

Once Murphy decided to run, the DCCC and its independent expenditure arm spent about $4.4 million on the race.

“I think she’ll do very well,” said Bob Poe, former state Democratic chair. “She has the support of Democratic leadership. … They’re really fond of her, and they’re going to look out for her. She’s a jewel in their crown.”

Murphy’s background — born in a Vietnamese refugee camp before coming to the U.S. when she was 6 months old, her parents working as laborers so she and her brother could become the first of their family to go to college — gave her a compelling story to tell voters, and her private sector and defense background provided the necessary experience, Democrats said.

“It was not just enough to say Mica was out of touch with his district,” Stephenson said. “We needed to give people a choice, a contrast. That’s why Stephanie did so well. She really took on the case to drive up the contrasts with Mica, and she gave [people] an opportunity to choose someone else. She was the uniquely perfect candidate to hold his feet to the fire.”

For Murphy,the key takeaway from her background is “less about the immigration story and more about the working class Americans that helped shape my experiences.”

“I was a beneficiary of an America that provided opportunities for people who were willing to work hard to make the most out of them,” Murphy said. “That’s the piece that resonates the most with me. My parents worked very hard in order to ensure that my brother and I were able to get a college education and were able to change the course of our lives. And those are things that we want to ensure Americans still have within reach.”

Becoming one of five Asian-American women to enter Congress next year, she said, “is one more step in the direction of diversifying government. … It’s a good thing and healthy thing for our government to have representatives who are diverse.”

But she’s entering a federal government firmly in the control of Republicans, especially after Donald Trump’s presidential victory — one that came using rhetoric and advancing policies that are concerning many groups nationwide, including Muslims and Hispanics.

“You can be sure that if we see President-elect Trump heading in a direction that seeks to isolate and discriminate against some groups of Americans that I will be a vocal opponent of that,” Murphy said. “But again, we haven’t taken our oaths of office yet, and a lot of this remains to be seen.”

Murphy remains “openminded,” she said, “and I’m hopeful that we will find our government is willing to work together, regardless of partisanship or party affiliation, in order to advance the needs of the American people. Because I think that is the message that came across loud and strong in this election, that the American people don’t feel like they’re being served by their government anymore.”

In succeeding Mica, she will have to work to follow in his footsteps when it comes to transportation funding. Mica helped steer billions of federal funds to the area as chairman and senior member of the House Transportation Committee, for projects including SunRail, I-4 and the Orlando International Airport expansion.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said in a statement that Mica had been “tireless in advocating — and succeeding — in crucial areas like transportation [and] public safety.”

Murphy said she will use whatever committee assignment she is given to push for Central Florida’s needs, including jobs, security and infrastructure investments.

“And so, while I obviously did not support President-elect Trump, and I have very clear differences and disagreements with some of his policy positions, the campaign is over,” she added. “And I’m willing to work with anyone who’s willing to work with me.”