Is Chris Murphy running for president in 2028?

Chris Murphy, the U.S. senator from Connecticut, is tracked as a possible 2028 Democratic presidential candidate. A senator since 2013 who has become one of the most nationally visible Democrats on gun safety following the 2012 Newtown massacre and an outspoken voice on foreign policy and democratic accountability, Murphy has built a national profile that keeps him in dark-horse 2028 conversations. He has not declared a presidential campaign, filed with the Federal Election Commission, or taken formal campaign steps as of mid-2026.

Murphy released his book Crisis of the Common Good on May 26, 2026, during a national media rollout that extended his public platform. When asked about 2028 ambitions at the time, he declined to confirm them -- and went further, questioning the premise that a 2028 election was guaranteed. He told CT Mirror on May 26, 2026, that he would be 'foolish to spend much time on it given there is no guarantee of an election in 2028.' On June 23, 2026, NPR's Book of the Day published an interview about the book as part of the wider rollout. Murphy's framing is notably different from many possible candidates who simply say the time is not right: his public posture includes skepticism about democratic conditions, which makes him an unusual figure in the 2028 field.

Connecticut has 7 electoral votes and is classified as Safe Democratic, having voted Democratic in 2016, 2020, and 2024. A Connecticut-based presidential nominee would not add a competitive swing state to the Democratic ticket; the running-mate pick would need to supply battleground credibility from Pennsylvania (19 electoral votes), Georgia (16 electoral votes), North Carolina (16 electoral votes), Michigan (15 electoral votes), Arizona (11 electoral votes), or Wisconsin (10 electoral votes). Murphy does not share home state with the other leading Democratic possibilities -- Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris are California residents, creating a 12th Amendment constraint on a Newsom-Harris or Harris-Newsom ticket that does not apply to a Murphy candidacy.

Murphy does not appear in any of the national Democratic primary surveys tracked by this site as of mid-2026. The mid-2026 surveys name Harris, Newsom, Buttigieg, AOC, Shapiro, Beshear, Booker, Pritzker, and Kelly as named respondent choices; Murphy is not among them, which reflects the fact that he has taken no affirmative campaign steps. He is constitutionally eligible to run for president. He is a natural-born U.S. citizen, is 52 years old as of mid-2026 and would be approximately 54 on Election Day, November 7, 2028 -- above the constitutional minimum of 35 -- and meets the 14-year U.S. residency requirement. The 22nd Amendment does not apply because he has never been president.