U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., a rising figure on the national scene for his party, announced on Wednesday that he is backing U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in the Senate while Republicans tried to pin President Barack Obama’s federal health-care law on the Florida Democrat. Rubio is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and has said he will not run for a second Senate term.
"I am excited to endorse Patrick Murphy for the U.S. Senate,” Booker said on Wednesday. “We need fresh, new leadership like his to tackle this nation's challenges. Patrick will be a champion for working families, women, and our seniors in Florida and across the country, and his long-term vision to help the middle class is exactly what we need right now. I'm looking forward to working with him in the U.S. Senate."
"Sen. Booker is a rising star in the Democratic Party," said Murphy. "Since coming to the Senate in 2013, he has established himself as a fighter for New Jersey's middle class and is a powerful voice for a new generation of leaders in Washington. I am honored to have his support, and am eager to work with him in the U.S. Senate."
Booker is the latest member of the Democratic leadership to get behind Murphy even as U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., continues to leave the door open to a Senate bid. Murphy has also reeled in the support of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), former Gov. Charlie Crist and fellow members of the Florida delegation in the U.S. House.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Murphy campaign released an email from Booker to supporters, urging them to rally behind the Senate candidate.
But even as Booker threw his support behind Murphy, Republicans looked to tie the Florida Democrat to Obama’s federal health-care law this week.
“We haven’t seen much in the way of public appearances from Obamacare supporter Patrick Murphy, but unfortunately Floridians will see firsthand the negative impacts of his support for Obamacare when they face skyrocketing rate increases in 2016,” the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) noted on Tuesday. “Murphy promised Floridians in 2012 that Obamacare would ‘help to bring down costs,’ but his hometown paper, the Palm Beach Post, is reporting today ‘health insurers in Florida want rate increases up to 63 percent in 2016.’
“Congressman Murphy’s policies continue to hurt Floridians and his support for Obamacare is only the tip of the iceberg,” the NRSC added. “When Floridians begin to get hit with higher rate increases in 2016, it will be yet another reminder of why Patrick Murphy is wrong for Florida.”
The NRSC showcased comments Murphy made at a League of Women Voters event in October 2012 when he was running against then-U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla.
“There is no more lifetime caps and the part that I especially like, are the state exchanges that are created now,” Murphy said about President Barack Obama’s federal health-care law. “There is more openness, more transparency that in each state, whether you are a business or an individual, you can go buy your insurance, and see what exactly the plan offers. This will create more competition and help to bring down costs. Long term, it’s all about costs. It’s all about preventative treatments, getting people treated earlier and that is a big part of Obamacare. That is a big part of the Affordable Care Act, is making sure people can go to the doctor, get their annual checkups and identify diseases, whatever it is, diabetes, early on to make sure they prevent it becoming a much bigger problem.”
While Murphy is already in and Grayson continues to leave the door open, over on the Republican side, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis is already running and Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera told Sunshine State News on Tuesday that he is “seriously considering” entering the race. Other possible Republican candidates include U.S. Reps. Jeff Miller, Curt Clawson and David Jolly, former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and businessman Randy Fine.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
