Patrick Murray (politician)

Patrick Murray is a retired United States Army Colonel and Virginia politician who ran for the United States House of Representatives from Virginia's 8th congressional district in 2010 and is running for the same seat again in 2012.

Early life
Murray was raised in Oklahoma by a single mother. He first began work at the age of 14 to help pay his family's bills. He attended Oklahoma State University, which he paid for through a combination of working part time, student loans, and a stipend from the Veterans Administration owing to his father's service in World War II. While attending college, Murray joined the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program as a cadet.

Military service
After graduating from Oklahoma State University in 1984, Murray was commissioned in the United States Army as a second lieutenant and was assigned to combat units on the Inner German border between West and East Germany. He went on to become a foreign area officer in the Defense Intelligence Agency, and was covered as a military attaché for United States embassies for intelligence collection missions in Russia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, and Kosovo. During the Iraq War, he deployed to Baghdad in 2007 from United States Joint Forces Command to serve as part of Multi-National Force – Iraq. His final tour of duty was at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City as a member of the U.S. Military Staff Committee. He served for 24 years in the Army.

2010
In 2010, Murray ran for Congress to represent Virginia's 8th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives during the 112th Congress. The Republican Party nomination was contested between Murray and Matthew Berry, attorney and former Federal Communications Commission general counsel. Murray narrowly won the June 8th primary by a margin of 52%-48%, allowing him to challenge 10-term Democratic incumbent Jim Moran and Independent Green candidate Ron Fisher, a retired United States Navy captain, in the general election. As of June 30, 2010, Murray had raised US$129,370, including $41,872 in candidate self-financing.

Moran won reelection to an eleventh term in the November 2, 2010 general election, with 61% of the vote to Murray's 37%.

2012
On November 10, 2011, Murray announced he would challenge Moran for a second time in the 2012 election. In an email to supporters, Murray wrote, "This decision to run for a second time took much soul-searching, thought and prayer. Campaigns are a crucible, but, just as with my military service, this is a matter of duty for me." As of May 12, 2012, he is unopposed in the Virginia Republican Primary election scheduled for June 12th.