Stephanie Murphy

Stephanie Murphy (born Đặng Thị Ngọc Dung, September 16, 1978) is a Vietnamese-born American politician, businesswoman, former educator, and former national security analyst who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 7th congressional district from 2017 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated 12-term incumbent Republican John Mica in 2016. Her district included much of downtown and northern Orlando, as well as all of Winter Park, Maitland, Sanford, and Altamonte Springs.

Murphy was born in 1978 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, before leaving the country with her family in 1979. After growing up in Northern Virginia, Murphy attended the College of William & Mary and Georgetown University. Before her election to Congress, she worked as a national security specialist at the United States Department of Defense, an executive at Sungate Capital, and a business professor at Rollins College. Murphy became the first Vietnamese-American woman, first Vietnamese-American Democrat, and the second Vietnamese-American overall (after South Vietnam-born Republican Joseph Cao of Louisiana) to be elected to Congress. Rather than seeking re-election to a fourth term, she retired from Congress in 2022.

On July 9, 2025, Murphy announced her candidacy for mayor of Orange County in 2026. However, she was eliminated in the primary election on August 18, 2026.

Stephanie Murphy was born on September 16, 1978, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Her family fled Communist-controlled Vietnam in 1979 when she was six months old. Their boat ran out of fuel and they were rescued by the United States Navy at sea. They settled in Northern Virginia, where she grew up.

With the help of Pell Grants and student loans, Murphy attended the College of William & Mary, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. She then went to Georgetown University, from which she received a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree.

After the September 11 attacks, Murphy went to work for the United States Department of Defense as a national security specialist. For her service, she received the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Civilian Service Award. She worked as an executive on investment efforts and government affairs initiatives at Sungate Capital in Winter Park, Florida, and as a business professor at Rollins College.

In 2013, the company 3N2 employed Murphy to lead a design team for new women's softball pants; she is listed in patent records as an inventor of "NuFit Knickers". In 2018 Murphy came under criticism after it was revealed that her husband's company has the pants and other sports gear made in China.

Murphy declared her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives for Florida's 7th congressional district in the 2016 elections. She ran against 12-term incumbent Republican John Mica in the November 8 general election. She was endorsed by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and former congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Murphy defeated Mica with 51% of the vote. She is the second Vietnamese-American, after Joseph Cao, to be elected to the United States Congress, and the first Vietnamese-American woman to do so.

Murphy ran in a district that was somewhat bluer than its predecessor after a court-ordered mid-decade redistricting. The old 7th had been a marginal district, even though Mica had won it twice without serious difficulty (he represented a more Republican St. Augustine/Daytona Beach/Orlando district from 1993 to 2013). Mitt Romney won it over Barack Obama in 2012, with 51% of the vote. In contrast, had the redrawn 7th existed in 2012, Obama would have won it with 49.4%.

After meeting with President Trump in September 2017, Murphy said that she and fellow Democrats could work with him.

According to political commentators, Murphy faced the challenge of representing an evenly divided district. "Of the three freshman Democrats from Central Florida, which include U.S. Reps. Val Demings, D-Orlando, and Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, Murphy faces the toughest race for re-election," the Orlando Sentinel wrote on January 2, 2018. "I think she has one of the toughest districts in the country," said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida. "It's very difficult to please everybody in a swing district, and that's why it's so challenging."

Murphy defeated Republican state Representative Mike Miller with 57.6% of the vote,

On July 9, 2025, Murphy announced she would run for mayor of Orange County, Florida. She joined a field of three other candidates. She failed to progress to the runoff election on August 18, 2026 after finishing third place in the primary election.

In 2021, Murphy was one of nine Democrats who opted not to support the Build Back Better Act unless the House first voted on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Murphy voted against allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices of prescription medications in the Ways and Means Committee.

Murphy is a self-identified capitalist. She supports a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. constitution, which would prohibit the government from spending more than it takes in on a given year. She views growing federal budget deficits as "major threats to the economy, the future health of America, and national security."

In an April 2020 conference call with business executives and lobbyists, Murphy expressed support for a lobbyist-led effort to reverse a ban in the original CARES Act that blocked business advocacy and lobbying groups from participating in the taxpayer-funded Paycheck Protection Program. The effort included a request to be eligible for an additional $25 billion in government funds for canceled events and other lost revenue from the pandemic.

Murphy was part of an effort by some Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to use the coronavirus outbreak to press Trump to remove tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of Chinese goods and imported steel and aluminum. After the administration rejected the requests, she and Representative Joe Cunningham sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter requesting that she include a suspension of the tariffs in the COVID-19 relief package and mandate that the government refund to businesses the tariffs already paid on imported Chinese goods and imported steel and aluminum.

Murphy and her husband, Sean, have two children. She is a Protestant Christian.