HARTFORD — On Friday, Hearst Connecticut announced its endorsement of U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) in his reelection campaign for U.S. Senate. The editorial board noted his success with his bipartisan Mental Health Reform Act and touted his work on fixing broken Buy American laws, cleaning up Long Island Sound, and keeping kids safe from gun violence. Hearst Connecticut includes daily newspapers like the Connecticut Post, Danbury News-Times, Stamford Advocate, New Haven Register, Norwalk Hour, Greenwich Time, and Torrington Register-Citizen, as well as multiple weekly papers.

“Connecticut needs a strong antidote to the Trump administration, someone who can accomplish meaningful bipartisan legislation in an otherwise divisive time.

Chris Murphy is exactly right for Connecticut. We endorse him for a second term in the U.S. Senate,” wrote the editorial board.

Read the full endorsement here:

CT Post: Endorsement: Chris Murphy for U.S. Senate

In his first term as a U.S. Senator, Chris Murphy has become the passionate, steadfast voice for common sense gun violence prevention.

He filibustered for nearly 15 hours on the Senate floor three years ago after the Orlando shootings to force a vote on gun safety measures. He spoke out immediately after the Parkland high school shootings in February. He speaks with an authenticity forged from the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy of Dec. 14, 2012.

Though his rage and frustration are barely contained, he has been able to work effectively with Republican colleagues — earlier this year he and John Cornyn, R-Texas, successfully ushered the Fix NICS Act to strengthen background checks on gun purchases.

While gun violence prevention has defined Murphy, he is not a sole-issue candidate. He has been active in writing bills to help Connecticut’s economy, fight the opioid epidemic, and strengthen national security.

He co-wrote, with a Republican lawmaker, the Mental Health Reform Act, which was signed into law, and requires insurers to treat mental illness the same as any other physical illness. This resulted in millions of new funding to Connecticut for mental health programs.

Murphy has long been a proponent of Buy American policies, and after taking office President Trump adopted two of his proposals.

His seats on the Senate Appropriations Committee, its Transportation subcommittee, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee enable him to work on legislation important to Connecticut. For example, he procured $88 million this year to protect Long Island Sound; he wrote the Students Before Profits Act to strengthen oversight of for-profit colleges; he successfully led the effort to reinstate funding for the Senior Community Service Employment Program, aimed at low-income or unemployed older citizens.

Murphy’s experience as a state Representative, state Senator, and then-congressman representing the 5th District before his election to the U.S. Senate six years ago, have informed his understanding of the state’s needs.

He actively tries to find out what constituents think and want. His walks across the state ground him in what he calls the “kitchen table issues.” Three years ago he started a project called Fed Up to collect stories about transportation problems and sent them to the federal administration.

Matt Corey, a Hartford-area businessman, is the Republican challenger. With a high-rise window washing business, he said he “knows what it’s like to meet payroll.” He supports vocational training and believes, rightly, that people are worried about jobs and property values. But he thinks the minimum wage “is not supposed to be a living wage; it’s part of the learning process.” For too many, that’s not reality.

Corey’s political experience is twice challenging, unsuccessfully, First District Congressman John Larsen.

Connecticut needs a strong antidote to the Trump administration, someone who can accomplish meaningful bipartisan legislation in an otherwise divisive time.

Chris Murphy is exactly right for Connecticut. We endorse him for a second term in the U.S. Senate.

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