U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy was being praised by the state’s largest union Thursday afternoon, but likely will face the brunt of the attacks this evening when he faces off against his fellow Democrats in a WVIT-TV televised debate.
In their first debate in Norwich last month, state Rep. William Tong and former Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz attacked Murphy’s record, while Murphy focused on Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive, he believes will be the Republican nominee.
But with only one hour of live debate and two more candidates (Lee Whitnum and Matthew Oakes) sharing the stage, there may not be enough time for any of the candidates to address any one issue at length.
Murphy expressed confidence Thursday that he would win the Democratic nomination at the convention in May, which requires him to get more than 50 percent of the delegate support. In order to get on the primary ballot, candidates need to receive 15 percent of the 1,845 delegates.
Asked whether he expects a primary, Murphy said, “it will ultimately be up to other candidates as to whether there’s a primary.”
The debate will air live on WVIT-TV at 7 p.m. tonight.
Another debate featuring the five Democratic candidates will be hosted by Fox 61 and The Hartford Courant 1 p.m. Monday, April 9 at the University of Connecticut.
