Although San Diego is well known for being a naval city with huge surges of patriotism, the city’s 53rd Congressional District has been represented in Washington by Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., since 2003. It runs D+8, and the last Republican to win the district in any election was Arnold Schwarzenegger in his 2006 gubernatorial re-election bid. That may all change if Morgan Murtaugh has her way.
For a party dying to attract fresh, young faces, one of the sources of the fountain of youth could come from an unexpected state: California. At 25 years old, Murtaugh has a millennial voice for strong, traditional, conservative politics and she’s just announced her candidacy for Congress.
Murtaugh currently works as an anchor and commentator at the San Diego-based One America News Network, but her passion for her hometown runs deep. After growing up and graduating from high school in San Diego, she attended Grossmont College in El Cajon, and then worked for Commander, Naval Air Forces as an Assistant Protocol Officer. She later began working in San Diego County politics, first for Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., and later for La Mesa mayor Art Madrid.
Eventually, Murtaugh found herself in the heart of politics – Washington D.C. – attending George Washington University. Now she wants to return to D.C., but, this time, as a representative of San Diego – and millennials. In the grand scheme, Murtaugh wants to begin a movement of millennials actively looking to fix the country’s problems from within.
“I really hope that more young people like myself will, instead of complaining about all our problems, will step up to the plate and take the power into our own hands,” Murtaugh told Red Alert Politics.
Murtaugh comes from a family that instilled values of duty, honor, and country. Her father is a San Diego County deputy sheriff, and her mother works for the Navy as a civilian. She is, however, the first Murtaugh to run for office.
The Murtaugh clan doesn’t boast a dark red lineage, either. Morgan’s younger brother voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, while she, a Carly Fiorina backer in the primaries, voted for Gary Johnson. Speaking of President Trump, Murtaugh says she will not be afraid to speak truth to power when the White House diverges from her conservative values. However, she has been pleasantly surprised by Trump’s performance.
“My favorite thing to note is The Heritage Foundation, for every incoming president, they release a list of policy suggestions, and their list of policy selections for his first four years in office, he’s accomplished more than 60 percent in his first year,” she cited.
Murtaugh understands the clash between old-school immigrant mentality of legally entering the United States and adapting to the nation’s culture, and the more recent notion of the nation adapting to immigrants. Aesthetically, one might paint her as a California blonde Fox News-type Republican, but Murtaugh is the granddaughter of Sicilian and Mexican immigrants.
“It’s a slap in the face for California to have become a sanctuary state, for all the people who did immigrate here the right way and did respect our laws,” said Murtaugh. “My grandparents waited in line, they did do all the paperwork and paid all the fines. They truly wanted to be Americans.”
Murtaugh cited many of the national security issues that surround San Diego’s constant battle with illegal immigration, given the city hosts seven military bases.
Finally, being from a state that has seen more than its fair share of headlines regarding campus bias against conservatives, Murtaugh is no stranger to conservative students’ uphill battle for a fair shake in higher education.
“It’s very upsetting to me to see schools like UC Berkeley, which is a public school, shut down conservatives and free speech as systematically as they do,” Murtaugh said. “If it continues the way its been going, I absolutely think the federal government should step in and say, ‘No more funding for you if you are actually targeting students. You are violating the rights of these students.’”
Overall, Murtaugh is passionate about her San Diego home, describing many cultural events in town and intricate vibes of the city. She has set out to prove that “age is just a number” unless you’re talking about senior citizens who have been serving in government for more than a decade.
To make San Diego red again, Murtaugh believes it’ll take someone that simply matches and speaks to voters in the district, mainly liberals, in a way that’s local. Her confidence radiates to the point that when asked what it will take to flip the 53rd, she simply responded, “Me.”
