Rep. Chris Murphy’s Senate bid got a boost from today, as his four Connecticut colleagues in the U.S. House endorsed his campaign.
Reps. John Larson, Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, and Jim Himes–representing the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th districts respectively–all declared their support for Murphy in his 2012 race to succeed retiring Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent who decided to forgo a 5th term.
Murphy, D-5th District, faces a Democratic primary contest against Susan Bysiewicz, Connecituct’s former Secretary of the State.
That Murphy’s home-state House colleagues would back Senate campaign is not a huge surprise, although Courtney, for one, had been considering a Senate run himself. He eventually decided against it, and today joined with the rest of the Connecticut contingent in backing Murphy.
“When Chris and I ran as challengers in 2006, I saw firsthand his tenacity and tireless work ethic,” Courtey said in the statement released by Murphy’s campaign. “Over the past four years, he has paid diligent attention to his district and constituents, while not yielding a bit of the energy that carried him to that first victory. Chris is a passionate and tireless advocate for our state, and I know he will make a great U.S. Senator.”
No word yet on when or whether Murphy might win the backing of Connecticut’s two U.S. senators-Democrat Richard Blumenthal and of course, Lieberman.
The Republican field, at this point, remains clear, with most of the speculation devoted to whether Linda McMahon will make another run after failing to beat Blumenthal in 2010.