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Tim Murphy (Congressman)Timothy Murphy (born September 12, 1952) is an American politician who currently serves in the House of Representatives for the 18th Congressional District of the state of Pennsylvania (map). A Republican, Murphy was first elected to the US Congress in 2002. Previous to his Congressional tenure, Murphy served in the Pennsylvania State Senate. Murphy was born into a middle class family in Cleveland, Ohio. After attending high school in Northfield, Ohio, he studied at Wheeling Jesuit University, and received an MA from Cleveland State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. Upon leaving school, he was a practicing psychologist and a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. He also made regular appearances on KDKA television station in Pittsburgh from 1979 to 1995 as a health care expert. Elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1996 from Upper St. Clair, Murphy served as chair of the Pennsylvania Committee on Aging and Youth and wrote the Pennsylvania Patient Bill of Rights. Despite his stance as a fiscal conservative he pushed for increased public funding for medical research. Murphy ran for the newly redrawn 18th Congressional District in southwestern Pennsylvania in the 2002 election year. Democrats accused the Republican controlled Pennsylvania State Assembly of gerrymandering the 18th District to favor a Republican candidate, but Republicans countered that Democrats still had a 70,000 voter registration edge even after redistricting. After a legal battle, the courts largely upheld Pennsylvania's redistricting plan after some minor modifications. In the congressional election of 2002, Murphy faced Democrat Jack Machek in a bitter race. Machek faced heavy criticism after allegedly implying in biographical information that he was an active duty military veteran and a West Point graduate. During the campaign, it was revealed that Machek had been discharged from West Point after his second year and that those two years were his only military service. Machek criticized Murphy for referring to himself as "Dr. Tim," claiming that it was an effort to mislead voters into thinking he was a physician. Murphy out spent Macheck by an 8 to 1 margin and had superior name recognition from his service in the State Senate and his appearances on KDKA. When the votes were counted on November 5, 2002, Murphy won big with more than 60% of the votes cast. Murphy easily won reelection in 2004 by a similar margin over Democratic challenger Mark Boles. Murphy's district includes parts of Allegheny, Washington, and Westmoreland counties. Murphy is a member of Energy and Commerce Committee, the Committee on Veteran's Affairs, and the Government Reform Subcommittee. External link Murphy, Tim Murphy, Tim
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