ST. PAUL, MN — Just nine days after a general election that ended a divisive and tiring election season, Minnesotans have been thrust into a new battle, the race for governor.
With no time to breathe, MPR reports the governor’s race has its first contender. Representative Erin Murphy (D-64A) announced that she has filed paperwork to join the democratic primary for governor of Minnesota.
A bio from Wikipedia shows that Murphy and her husband Joe have two daughters. She was born in Columbus, Wisconsin and received a B.S. in Nursing from UW-Oshkosh in 1984. Murphy continued her education pursuing a M.A. in organizational leadership at St. Kate’s and was a policy fellow at the Humphrey Institute.
Before her time at the Capitol, Murphy worked for the Minnesota Nurses Association as a lobbyist, organizer and executive director. She also worked as an operating nurse at the U of M Medical Center.
During her time in office, Murphy has been a champion for multiple issues. According to her campaign website, Murphy is an advocate for affirmative consent on college campuses. This would require University policy to implement and dictate what affirmative consent is in a potential sexual scenario.
Murphy has also been a proponent for lowering the cost of college and the existing debt that many students and graduates face and preschool in Minnesota public schools. Murphy has also rallied for paid family leave and earned sick time.
Murphy has worked across the aisle in the past. A Minnpost article from 2010 states that “Most thanked Murphy, Rep. Huntley (D-7A), and Rep. Matt Dean (R-38B) for their efforts.” The efforts Minnpost refers to a bill that would give medical assistance to poor adults without children.
Murphy’s announcement kicks off another tumultuous election cycle for Minnesota.
The 2018 election will be interesting to watch as Minnesota’s traditionally blue hue became more purple this past election season. Hillary Clinton won the State by only 44,000 votes.
Republicans in the state, who were originally concerned that they would lose the House, have flipped traditionally blue districts, flipped the Senate and have kept the House.
Preya Samsundar
Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.