# Carol A. Murphy

Carol A. Murphy (born 1962 or 1963) is an American politician of the Democratic Party, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since January 9, 2018.
Murphy served in the General Assembly as the Deputy Majority Leader from 2020 to 2021 and has been the Majority Whip since 2022.

## Background

Murphy's father was an Army veteran and Bronze Star recipient who she credits as the reason she learned about the value of service. She was quoted as saying, "Like all of you, I’ve experienced tragedies and struggles. I want to be on the front lines during the toughest times, fighting for you in Trenton."
Prior to her time in the Assembly, she held several jobs in the public sector, including serving as Community Relations Manager for the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, Chief of Staff to state senator Linda R. Greenstein (District 14), and Director of Policy and Communication for Assemblywoman Gabriela Mosquera (District 4).
As of 2024, Murphy lives in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

## New Jersey General Assembly

Murphy was elected to represent the state's 7th Legislative District in 2017, replacing Troy Singleton, who relinquished his seat to successfully run for the New Jersey Senate. She became the first woman to represent the 7th Legislative District in 20 years, with the last Assemblywoman for the district having been elected in 1995. She was also the first Democrat from Mount Laurel to ever serve in the State Legislature.
In 2020, she was one of the primary sponsors of Assembly Bill 4454 (now N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.36a) which requires a diversity and inclusion to be included in the school curriculum for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

### Committee assignments

Committee assignments for the current session are:
* Judiciary, Vice-Chair
* Budget
* Financial Institutions and Insurance

### District 7

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The representatives from the 7th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:
* Senator Troy Singleton (D)
* Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D)
* Assemblywoman Carol A. Murphy (D)

## 2024 U.S. House of Representatives campaign

On October 11, 2023, Murphy announced that she was running for the Democratic nomination in New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in the 2024 election. She was running to succeed Andy Kim, who is vacating the seat to run for the United States Senate. Murphy was defeated by her district-mate, Herb Conaway, in the primary election in June.

## Electoral history
### Assembly

7th Legislative District General Election, 2023 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Herbert C. Conaway Jr. (incumbent) | 32,608 | 33.5 |
| | Democratic | Carol Murphy (incumbent) | 31,936 | 32.8 |
| | Republican | Douglas Dillon | 16,368 | 16.8 |
| | Republican | Eileen Bleistine | 16,350 | 16.8 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 97,262 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
New Jersey general election, 2021 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Herb Conaway | 45,728 | 30.98% |
| | Democratic | Carol Murphy | 45,170 | 30.60 |
| | Republican | Douglas Dillon | 28,579 | 19.36 |
| | Republican | Joseph Jesuele | 28,139 | 19.06 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 147,616 | 100.0 |
7th Legislative District General Election, 2019 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Carol Murphy (incumbent) | 28,735 | 37.64% |
| | Democratic | Herbert Conaway, Jr. (incumbent) | 28,594 | 37.46% |
| | Republican | Peter Miller | 17,348 | 22.73% |
| | True Blue Unbossed | Kathleen Cooley | 1,656 | 2.17% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 76,333 | 100% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
New Jersey general election, 2017 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Herb Conaway | 39,879 | 33.1 | 2.5 |
| | Democratic | Carol Murphy | 38,819 | 32.3 | 2.4 |
| | Republican | Octavia Scott | 20,941 | 17.4 | 1.9 |
| | Republican | Robert Thibault | 20,726 | 17.2 | 1.7 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 120,365 | 100.0 | |