Democratic senator admits his party has been 'hyperconfused over the course of the past 5 years'

Chris Murphy.
(Image credit: Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

The day after Democrats lost yet another special House election, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.) offered a brutal analysis of his party's struggle to define its economic message. "I think we've been hyperconfused over the course of the past five years," Murphy said Wednesday on MSNBC's Morning Joe. "Some of the time we're talking about economic growth, some of the time we're talking about economic fairness."

Murphy said he thinks Democrats ought to instead be "hyperfocused on this question of wage growth and job growth." He urged Democrats not to be "scared off by that message just because it's been what Republicans have been talking about."

Murphy dished out his advice after Republican Karen Handel soundly defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff by a 4 percent margin in Georgia's special House election Tuesday. Also Tuesday, Democrat Archie Parnell lost to Republican Ralph Norman in South Carolina's 5th congressional district, securing an 0-4 record for Democrats in special House races this year.

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Watch Murphy's analysis of Democrats' messaging struggles below, and read more on how Democrats should move on here. Becca Stanek

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