U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy will fan out across the country in the final weeks before the midterm elections in an effort to boost Democrats’ chances. But he says he’ll spend the bulk of his time in Connecticut — for both campaigning and grassroots organizing.

Fresh off his trip to the Middle East, the Connecticut Democrat will stump for candidates in his home state as well as nearly half a dozen states with marquee Senate races that could affect which party holds the majority. But Murphy said his work won’t be singularly focused on political campaigns.

Murphy, a vocal critic of the Trump administration, is not up for reelection this year so he can spend his time and vast resources elsewhere. This gives him a chance to step further into his role as a campaign surrogate and test the effectiveness of his and the party’s messaging.

“I just want to be a good team player right now. I want to win,” Murphy said in an interview with The Connecticut Mirror. “I think this democracy can survive, but our chances are a lot better if Democrats win both the House and the Senate.”

As Democrats look to build the conditions for a wave election, Murphy will travel to North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire. Those states have a mix of Senate races with prime pickup opportunities for the party and open-seat races that the party needs to defend because of a retirement.

Some of the candidates running in battleground states are friends like Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who’s running for Minnesota’s open Senate seat. Murphy feels good about her odds.

While the Democratic Party at large is focused on swing states, Murphy will also spend much of the next three weeks in Connecticut.

“I’m not taking anything for granted in Connecticut,” he said. “I’ll be spending most of my time in-state.”

During the 2024 elections, Murphy led Connecticut Democrats in a coordinated campaign the weekend before the election. He easily won a third term that year.

This year, he plans to be a presence on the campaign trail again, whether that’s for Gov. Ned Lamont, U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th District, or a slew of down-ballot candidates running for state House and Senate in the Connecticut General Assembly.

Before running for Senate in 2012, Murphy represented Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District, which remains the state’s most competitive federal race. While he feels good about Hayes’ prospects this cycle, he notes the sprawling western district is “always tough.” She faces Republican retired Navy SEAL Chris Shea this year.

Beyond work on campaigns, Murphy said he wants to focus on boosting turnout for the fourth wave of “No Kings Day” rallies that’ll take place across the country on Oct. 17. The protests have become the main vehicle for pushing back against President Donald Trump’s second term. Saturday’s demonstrations will center on early voting.

In-person early voting in Connecticut runs from Oct. 19 to Nov. 1. Voters can also do absentee voting by mail. The last day to request an absentee ballot is Nov. 2. Those ballots must arrive before polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Murphy has gone to past No Kings rallies, and his participation at ones outside of Connecticut hasn’t gone unnoticed. In March, he went to one of the rallies in Los Angeles. Last October, he protested from D.C.

On Saturday, he’ll attend No Kings rallies in Connecticut. He’s working with local Indivisible groups — key players in coordinating the rallies — to increase turnout. Murphy shared with CT Mirror that he donated about $40,000 through his political action committee to Indivisible groups in Connecticut to try and make that happen.

“If that day is bigger, it will help us build momentum into the elections,” he said.

Carol Rizzolo, a voting rights activist and co-lead for the get-out-the-vote action team for CT Shoreline Indivisible, said she appreciated the senator focusing on Connecticut. She noted the “balancing act” he must undergo showing up in the state while also doing his job both around the country and abroad.

“He’s also standing behind a lot of the groups in Connecticut with financial support which we haven’t seen before, but I am just thrilled about it,” Rizzolo said. “I’m delighted to see Chris turn some of his attention back here.”

Rizzolo says the work by activists and others — all the way up to members of Congress — to push back against Trump’s agenda is necessary because despite Connecticut Democrats’ electoral dominance in recent elections, she still doesn’t think of the state as “reliably blue.”

Joanna Swomley, a co-leader and co-founder of Indivisible Greenwich, said Murphy’s presence at any No Kings rally in Connecticut is welcomed and he has an “open invitation from us” to stop by in the southwest corner of the state.

Swomley said the focus for Saturday is two-fold: early voting and building on the infrastructure that’s already in place for public protests. At past rallies in Greenwich, organizers have seen the numbers range from 800 to 1,000 people. But participation could look a bit different this time in terms of participation and speakers because of the proximity to the elections.

As Democrats eye an ever-expanding Senate map, Murphy, in particular, sees real opportunity in Michigan, where Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official, is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers.

Murphy called El-Sayed a “potentially transformational member of the Senate.” Murphy argued that the Michigan progressive is in the “mainstream” when it comes to issues like the Middle East — that U.S. policy needs to change regarding Israel — and efforts to take on billionaire and corporate power.

El-Sayed has taken some heat, particularly when it comes to his association with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, but ultimately prevailed in a contentious and expensive primary this summer. Murphy initially endorsed Mallory McMorrow, one of three Democrats who sought the nomination before dropping out weeks before the primary.

But Murphy and most Senate Democrats have rallied behind El-Sayed, especially after he visited Washington, D.C. The party has mostly unified around his candidacy post-primary, and polling is trending toward him.

El-Sayed won’t be his only focus when Murphy heads to Michigan. The Connecticut senator said he’ll also campaign for some state candidates further down the ballot.

Most of the states Murphy plans to visit have been on national Democrats’ radar. But Florida, a former swing state that’s turned red in recent elections, has emerged as a late target. Angie Nixon, a state representative, prevailed in an upset in the Democratic primary for Florida’s Senate seat after getting significantly outspent.

Murphy wants to give her a boost with fundraising in a state with expensive media markets because he doesn’t want Democrats to completely cede Florida to the GOP. Still, Nixon, who has a loose affiliation as a democratic socialist, faces an uphill battle to flip the seat.

“I think Angie has an appeal that you can’t always read in polls,” Murphy said. “And if this is really going to be a wave year, what a disaster it would be if we didn’t do everything we could to help Angie afford a surfboard. So if I’m going to spend energy raising money for anything other than Connecticut candidates, it will probably be Florida.”

The other Senate candidates Murphy hopes to lend a hand to include U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas in New Hampshire and former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina.

Taking back the Senate majority, however, still remains a tough feat for Democrats. Republicans currently control the upper chamber with a narrow 53-47 majority. More races have come into play in recent weeks, but Democrats still need to flip GOP-held seats in deeper-red states, while defending a few of their own vulnerable senators in tougher environments. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win the Senate.

Outside of election years, Murphy has taken steps over the last year to be a bigger player in Democratic circles. He’s spent the last two years traveling around the country with other members of Congress and candidates to push back against the White House.

He launched the American Mobilization Project, a political action committee that’s primarily used its contributions to fund citizen and local grassroots groups that organize around issues, more so than candidates. He also recently contributed money to national and state committees to help with elections. It comes as Republicans have a strong money advantage over Democrats, even with political headwinds against the GOP.

After Democratic losses in the 2024 elections, Murphy has been critical of his party’s outreach and messaging to voters. Since then, he’s described Democrats’ performance as “good but spotty.” He argues Democrats need to elect senators like El-Sayed and Flanagan, whom he believes will take more robust tactics if elected.

“Yes I’m interested in winning the Senate, but I’m also interested in transforming the nature of the Senate, so that there are more people in the Senate Democratic caucus who are willing to more aggressively take on corporate power, are willing to use tougher tactics to defend democracy,” he said.

He believes the issue of corruption is a “universal” message that’ll be a common theme as Murphy travels the country.

Acting as a campaign surrogate could give him an opportunity to expand his own coalition and give him more exposure to voters around the country — especially if he decides to seek higher office, though he has been mum on the 2028 presidential election or any potential future ambitions.

“I think this is the kind of year where you have to spread yourself a little thinner,” Murphy said. “For me, that’s meant putting some of my money into citizen groups, not just campaigns, and when I’m in these states, I’m going to be campaigning for down-ballot candidates as well.”