Democrats have spent too much time talking about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and too little time discussing issues that voters care about, Sen. Chris Murphy said Wednesday.
Murphy, D-Conn., was responding to his party failing to win the open House seat Tuesday night in Georgia's 6th Congressional District.
"I think what it means is the Democrats have to be hyper-focused on an economic message that tells people that the Republican Party is all about economic growth for millionaires and billionaires, and the Democratic Party is about economic growth for everybody," Murphy told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program.
"The fact that we have spent so much time talking about Russia has been a distraction from what should be the clear contrast between Democrats and the Trump agenda, which is on economics," Murphy added.
The senator said he rides a commuter bus when he is in Connecticut and talks to local voters and they do not discuss political events.
"I have to say, they are never talking about issues like Russia. They are not talking, frankly, about what's on cable news at night. They are talking about the same things. Wages. They're talking about education. They're talking about public safety," Murphy said.
President Donald Trump's actions are giving Democrats opportunities to focus on economics, he continued, and "I think this president is handing it to us. He is using this administration and his presidency to enrich himself and his millionaire friends."
"We've got to be focused on everybody else," Murphy added.
"We have to challenge ourselves. I think we've been hyper-confused… I think people right now desperately care about growth, growth in wages, growth in hours, growth in jobs."
Murphy denied speculation that he was planning to run for president in 2020 in a Connecticut radio interview, according to The Day.
"I am interested in having a national voice. I am interested in doing that through the United States Senate," he told the radio station.
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