Lee Murphy is expected to announce a campaign for the Republican nomination for Congress. If nominated, he is expected to face Democratic incumbent Lisa Blunt Rochester.
It will be Murphy’s third attempt to gain the state’s lone congressional seat.
Murphy will be joined in making a political announcement by Julianne Murray, who has put a countdown clock on her fund-raising website. with an announcement coming next month.
Murray, a Seaford lawyer, was the Republican candidate for governor in 2020 but suffered a lopsided loss to incumbent John Carney.
Murray was active in the “reopen Delaware” movement and was unhappy with the inability to rent a condo during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. She represents her husband in a lawsuit claiming the rental ban was unconstitutional.
Murray’s website and campaign logo do not mention the office she is seeking. However, she could be eyeing the Attorney General’s post now held by Kathy Jennings, whose term ends in early 2023.
Announcing for governor this early is unusual in Delaware. Carney is term-limited, and no Democrat has yet announced plans to seek the post with
Murphy is an actor and a retired Amtrak conductor.
In 2018, Murphy lost a primary battle to perennial candidate Scott Walker. Walker is known for his quirky campaigns that feature signs on roadsides and nailed to trees.
Walker stayed out of the congressional race in 2020 and ran for governor, with Murphy prevailing in the primary but losing to Blunt Rochester by a wide margin. Walker has reportedly moved to South Carolina.
Murphy has been making the rounds of festivals and talk radio stations in Delaware.
The Murray and Murphy campaigns have appealed to the increasingly conservative GOP base centered in Sussex and Kent counties.
The GOP roster for 2020 also included Lauren Witzke, who ran against U.S. Sen. Chris Coons. Witzke gained national attention for supporting at various times the QAnon conspiracy claims and the flat earth movement.
Republicans have not fielded a candidate with moderate views who might break the Democrats’ hold on statewide elective offices. By contrast, GOP moderate Gov. Larry Hogan remains popular in his final term in nearby Maryland.
The moderate wing of the party never recovered from the 2010 Senate candidacy of Christine O’Donnell, who won the Republican nomination over Cong. Mike Castle. Chris Coons easily defeated O’Donnell. Some upstate Republicans changed party affiliations.
Democrats enjoy a registration advantage over Republicans in Delaware.
