Florida Democrat Stephanie Murphy Unsure if She Will Run for Reelection: ‘We Are Still Taking a Look’

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) listens during a select committee meeting investigating
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Wendell Husebø

Florida Democrat Rep. Stephanie Murphy said Saturday she may not run for reelection, a possible serious blow to Democrats’ hopes of retaining their U.S. House majority in 2022.

Murphy’s comments came at the Florida Democrats’ Leadership Blue convention, a weekend retreat where Democrats strategized about the 2022 midterms. At the convention, Murphy referred to any reelection bid from her as an as-of-yet-uncertain proposition.

“I’m confident that if I run I will win,” she said. “We are still taking a look. I think there’s still a lot of time between now and the elections and right now I’m focused on doing my job,” she said in reference to the redistricting maps.

Murphy’s reluctance to remain in Congress is presumably due to Florida’s redistricting. The Florida House revealed maps last week that deleted Murphy’s district seven by tearing it into two unfavorable areas. The maps are to be solidified in January and will likely hand Republicans an edge in gaining two seats in Florida’s congressional delegation.

Murphy originally announced in the spring she was considering leaving her seat to challenge Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the U.S. Senate race. But after Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) announced she was leaving the House to campaign against Rubio, Murphy bowed out of the Senate primary race and still has not indicated whether or not she would run for reelection.

Murphy’s potential decision to forgo a reelection campaign indicates just how difficult it would be to run against a Republican candidate in a red district, such as the potentially newly shaped district six.

Though Murphy appears to live in the potential district, she would have an uphill fight to combat Florida state representative and U.S. congressional candidate Anthony Sabatini, who told Breitbart News he will likely run in district six pending the map finalization.

In a tweet Monday morning, Sabatini called Murphy a “scared” opponent and slammed her for potentially never running for office again:

Florida’s redistricting map may expand Republicans’ hopes of reclaiming the House. If the maps are confirmed in January as written, Republicans have a solid opportunity to pick up two seats in Florida.

One of those seats would be Murphy’s district, along with a newly drawn district east of Orlando, north of Tampa, and south of The Villages. The new seat is considered a moderately red, tossup district covering suburban and rural areas.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø

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