Murphy talks about campaign issues

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (WTNH) -- Chris Murphy says he's not superstitious, but on the day after every election he goes to the Capitol Lunch on Main Street in New Britain and has a couple of chili dogs.

Murphy beat Linda McMahon by 12 percentage points, about the same margin she lost by two years ago to Dick Blumenthal.

"I was pleasantly surprised by the margin," Murphy said.

He says the debates on TV were the campaign turning point and is convinced political campaigns must change.

"We've got to admit that we have this wrong and that we should find a different way to finance elections for the Senate and the House that doesn't allow an individual to try to purchase elections," Murphy said.

He says that while McMahon essentially wrote herself a check for over 40 million dollars, he had to spend a lot of his time raising ten million, just to compete.

"I'm going to go to the Senate to be an advocate of public financing for congressional elections and I don't think we had a better example than the election we just went through," Murphy said.

He also says the results of the vote nationwide, which resulted in Republicans losing some House and Senate seats, should convince the GOP that they should compromise with the Democrats on the spending and tax cut issues in the lame duck session of Congress that begins on Tuesday.

"I hope that the elements of the Republican Party which want to come to the table and compromise on fiscal issues will show up next week because we're going to need them," Murphy said.