Why is Patrick Murphy suddenly invisible to national party leaders? Sure, RealClearPolitics.com has him polling on average 5.5 percentage points behind Marco Rubio, but not so long ago the congressman was the Democrats' anointed one in Florida, expected to flip the U.S. Senate seat from red to blue.
He was getting a lot of help from the national Dems during the first quarter of 2016.
Since then, not so much.
I'm thinking it's the clanking chain of legal and ethical problems he's dragging around. He's like the ghost of Jacob Marley.
I wrote in late August that Murphy had spent $53K on legal bills in only 40 days. No doubt some of that was to deal with a Federal Elections Commission review of a potential straw donor scheme involving the family of one of Saudi Arabia’s most powerful billionaires. But other fees were paid to a firm that specializes in members of Congress under a more serious variety of investigation.
After those reports were made public, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee began canceling millions in television ad buys to support Murphy -- first on Sept. 6, then again on Sept. 12.
Well, it doesn't rain but it pours for the 33-year-old millionaire: Now Hillary Clinton is dissing him.
It's a fact: Democratic presidential standard bearer Clinton NEVER mentions Murphy when she campaigns in Florida. If you didn't notice that, read about it here. You'll see The Miami Herald noticed. To put an exclamation mark on the Herald's point, have a look at the video of Clinton speaking last week in CD 18 -- the congressional district on the Treasure Coast Murphy represents. Notice she mentions everybody BUT Murphy.
And how about this? Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent out a fundraising email last week on behalf of Senate Democratic candidates. She mentioned Ted Strickland, Katie McGinty, Catherine Cortez Masto, Deborah Ross, Russ Feingold, Tammy Duckworth & Jason Kander. But Patrick Murphy? Not a word. See for yourself:
"Donate before midnight to Russ Feingold in Wisconsin, Katie McGinty in Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire, Ted Strickland in Ohio, Jason Kander in Missouri, Deborah Ross in North Carolina, Tammy Duckworth in Illinois and Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada. If they win, we'll have a Trump-proof Democratic majority in the Senate to fight back."
Murphy, meanwhile, is desperate. On Friday, the latest of several-per-week begging emails went out from Mandi Karp, Murphy's campaign finance director. The subject line read, "Now I'm begging" ... and said this:
"This is bad, Nancy.
"We are still $3,000 away from our $200,000 FEC goal, and time is running out FAST.
"I’ve been staring at these numbers for so long, my eyes are starting to water. And we’re still not there.
"I know it’s Friday. I know it’s getting late. But we need -- NEED -- to reach this goal.
"So I’m begging you -- please, if at all possible, step up with a contribution, even if it’s just $5 or $10. All gifts are still being MATCHED. ...
"Reaching this goal means we can afford to fight against the millions in outside spending against us. It means we can afford to keep ads on the air, staff on the ground, and everything we need to beat Marco Rubio.
"But we're not where we need to be yet."
This is the home team trying to do it all for a candidate who burns through money like a flame burns tissue paper (the big legal bill?). Have they been abandoned right at crunch time? Rubio regularly runs ahead of Donald Trump in public opinion polls, suggesting the Republican incumbent's lead is durable, yet not exactly at the point where Murphy would be ready to hoist a white flag.
So I must ask again: Do Democrats, and especially Hillary Clinton, know something about Patrick Murphy and his legal problems that is causing them to act like he no longer exists? Boy, it sure smells fishy.
Next: A look at Patrick Murphy's congressional record.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
