YouTube download / William & Mary video / Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy profile: 'Her story is triumph. She gives voice to those without one, and stands alongside those who can no longer fight for themselves.'
Posted: 2020-09-17 - 17:51:02
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
WINTER PARK, Fla. -- Leo Valentin narrowly defeated former Seminole GOP State committeeman Richard Goble in the Aug. 18 primary, but he's clearly outmatched against Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy in the Nov. 3 general election.
That's because Murphy has demonstrated in just four short years her ability to reach out to the other side of the political aisle in Washington to get things done, a rarity in these tumultuous political times with the great partisan divide, especially in this dreadful and deadly coronavirus pandemic that has now claimed more than 200,000 American lives and left millions jobless
Murphy, who knocked off John Mica, the longtime incumbent four years ago, and then easily won re-election in 2018 against little known GOP challenger Mike Miller, appears to be a solid bet to win re-election again for another two-year term.
Valentin will take on Murphy, D-Winter Park, in a race seen by the non-partisan Cook Political Report as solidly Democratic, even as the district appears evenly split between the two major parties.
There's also a third candidate appearing on the Nov. 3 ballot: William Garlington, running as an "independent."
The Florida Republican Party targeted Murphy in a press release, claiming she's “not the moderate she claims to be” while marketing Valantin as a “a perfect fit for this district.”
Headline Surfer sees no evidence, not even anecdotally to back the Florida GOP's claim that Murphy is anything but moderate.
Murphy, 42, has demonstrated time and again, a willingness to work with her Republican colleagues in Congress, most notably Congressman Michael Waltz, the district 8 incumbent out of St. Augustine, whose district includes greater Daytona Beach.
Murphy, 42, has demonstrated time and again, a willingness to work with her Republican colleagues in Congress, most notably Congressman Michael Waltz, the district 8 incumbent out of St. Augustine, whose district includes greater Daytona Beach.
A former educator, businesswoman, and national security specialist, Murphy is rated as one of the most effective and bipartisan Members of Congress, working with both parties to expand benefits for veterans, cut taxes for Gold Star families, and protect our health care.
The Orlando Sentinel endorsed Stephanie Murphy calling her a “political peacemaker” and praising her record of bipartisan accomplishments. Headline Surfer agrees wholeheartedly in that assessment.
Here's what Central Florida voters in Murphy's district need to know:
Murphy passed historic legislation that lowers prescription drug costs and holds big drug companies accountable for price gouging. She has pledged to continue to protect Social Security and Medicare for our seniors, and protect health coverage for people with pre-existing health conditions.
To keep Congress accountable, Murphy supports getting dark money out of politics. She even introduced a ban to prevent former members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists, freeze congressional salaries, get rid of perks like first-class travel, and pass a quote - no budget, no pay law - which says members of Congress don’t get paid unless they do their jobs and pass a budget on time.
Murphy stood up to the corporate gun lobby in Washington and won, overturning the federal ban on research into gun violence. She will continue fighting for common sense gun safety rules to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, like convicted domestic abusers.
Leo Valentin, quite frankly, is just too extreme for Central Florida - not offering much of anything in the way of substantive legislation - only undying partisan support for Trump.
Valentin opposes even the most commonsense gun safety laws, like preventing dangerous domestic abusers and terrorists from getting their hands on guns.
Valentin also supports outlawing abortion, violating a women’s constitutional right to make her own private health care decisions with her doctor.
And when President Trump was critical of Puerto Rico following the devastation from Hurricane Maria, Valentin steadfastly defended Trump - not on moral or ethical grounds, but clearly for partisan purposes.
YouTube download / Casselberry Chamber of Commerce video / Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy gives a virtual talk for the Casselberry Vhamber of Commerce in July on her re-election campaign for a third term.
Murphy's childhood is one of inspiration here in Central Florida: She's the first Vietnamese-American woman -- and second ever Vietnamese-American person — elected to Congress. Murphy had never held public office on any level before defeating entrenched GOP incumbent John Mica in the 2016 elections. In 2018, Murphy, with 57 percent of the votes, easily defeated Mike Miller, the Republican candidate.
With the Dems winning a majority of the seats in in the House in 2018, Murphy was named to the powerful Ways and Means Committee - only the 20th woman ever to serve on that committee. As it is one of the "exclusive committees" of the House, she had to give up her previous seats on the Armed Services and Small Business committees.
Headline Surfer sees Stephanie Murphy as a beacon of light who continues to fight hard for her constituents back home in Seminole and Orange counties and she has demonstrated a willingness to work with her GOP counterparts in Washington, most notably Michael Waltz. Headline Surfer endorses Murphy without hesitation for re-election to Congress on Nov. 3.
Headline Surfer sees Stephanie Murphy as a beacon of light who continues to fight hard for her constituents back home in Seminole and Orange counties and she has demonstrated a willingness to work with her GOP counterparts in Washington, most notably Michael Waltz. Headline Surfer endorses Murphy without hesitation for re-election to Congress on Nov. 3.
FAST FACTS: Stephanie Murphy
• Stephanie Murphy was just a baby when her parents fled communist Vietnam by boat and were rescued by the U.S. Navy at sea. Murphy’s parents worked blue collar jobs during the day and cleaned office buildings at night to support her and her brother.
• After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Murphy joined the Department of Defense, attributing it to wanting to protect the country that rescued her family from sea.
• Murphy became the first woman in her family to go to college, earning a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the College of William and Mary and a Master of Science in foreign service from Georgetown University.
• Murphy works as an executive at Sungate Capital, where she is responsible for leading investment efforts. She holds a patent for a sports clothing design and also is an instructor of business and social entrepreneurship at Rollins College.
• She is a board member of the Creative City Project, an initiative to elevate the status of performing arts by making it more accessible to the community.
• Murphy lives in Winter Park with her husband, Sean Murphy, and their two small children.
Murphy's challengers:
Neither Valentin nor Garlington pose a serious threat to Murphy's drive for a third term.
There are two factors holding them in check: Lack of name recognition and woefully little campaign financing to get the word out through mailers and TV advertising on who they are and why they asre running.
Murphy's campaign warchest is a whopping $2.15 million, of which she still has $1.42 million in cash reserves. Much of what Murphy has left is going to be invested into TV advertising; drowning out what little Valentin can muster in TV campaign ads, consideribng he'ds down to $185,048 from the overall $496,472 he raised.
Garlington generated a paltry $10,400, with that amount still intact, which is too little to do anything beyond perhaps a mailer.
Valentin has been endorsed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for what that is worth, with the 2016 presidential candidate quoted on Valentin's campaign website as sayingas saying, “Leo is courageous and principled. A man we can count on to put our families and our values - first!.”
Then again, Murphy has the endorsement of a bigger political heavyweight - Joe Biden, the Democratic challenger to President Trump.
There's no such endorsement from Trump to Valentin, 34, medical doctor who runs a radiology practice in Orlando. He is married and has one child.
The independent challenger, Garlington, 54, of Oviedo, describes himself as an "entrepreneur, author, public speaker, educator, and former actor."
Garlington, father of a grown daughter, has said his "focus since 2010 has been educating individuals of the importance of self-reliance. To look beyond the dependency of the federal and state governments as a surrogate parent."
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science & American History from Florida State University.
Headline Surfer Endorsement Team:
Our endorsements emanate from a collaboration of three: Henry Frederick, publisher; Sera King, associate publisher; and Darlene Vann, Musings blogger.
Frederick is a registered NPA, who sees himself as conservative. King is a registered Democrat who sees herself as liberal and Vann is a Democrat, who describes herself as middle of the road. Frederick and King are married and live in Sanford in Seminole County while Vann lives in Edgewater in Volusia County.
All three have been with Headline Surfer since its inception 12 1/2 years ago.
Headline Surfer is endorsing candidates in more than 50 races in Volusia, Seminole and Orange counties in advance of the Nov. 3 general election.
Henry Frederick is publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched 12 years ago that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed more than a hundred journalism industry awards in print & online -- more than all other members of the working press combined in Central Florida since the mid-1990s. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism with academic honors from Full Sail University in 2019. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary programs on Discovery ID and Reelz for his investigative reporting and cops & courts breaking news stories.