Murphy is the junior senator from Connecticut and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 3, 2013. Murphy is next up for reelection in 2024 and serves until Jan 3, 2025. He is 49 years old.
He was previously the representative for Connecticut’s 5th congressional district as a Democrat from 2007 to 2012.
![Photo of Sen. Christopher Murphy [D-CT]](/static/legislator-photos/412194-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2020 Report Card for Murphy.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Murphy is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the Senate positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Murphy has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2019 to Jan 24, 2023. See full analysis methodology.
Enacted Legislation
Murphy was the primary sponsor of 14 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- S. 5230 (117th): Billy’s Law
- S. 5029: Help Find the Missing Act
- S. 4678: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2023
- S. 4122: Housatonic Wild and Scenic River Act of 2022
- S. 3416 (117th): Protecting Patients from Counterfeit Medical Devices Act
- S. 753 (117th): Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2021
- S. 3058 (117th): Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2022
Does 14 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Murphy sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (29%) Education (21%) International Affairs (15%) Government Operations and Politics (9%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (7%) Crime and Law Enforcement (7%) Labor and Employment (6%) Taxation (5%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Murphy recently introduced the following legislation:
- S. 5307 (117th): Fair Play for Women Act
- S. 5296 (117th): Student Loan Forgiveness for Farmers and Ranchers Act
- S. 5262: Angel Tax Credit Act
- S. 5230 (117th): Billy’s Law
- S. 5150: Strengthening Consumer Protections and Medical Debt Transparency Act
- S. 5029: Help Find the Missing Act
- S. 4977: Vote Without Fear Act
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2013 to Dec 2022, Murphy missed 33 of 3,426 roll call votes, which is 1.0%. This is better than the median of 2.4% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
