In 1995, Murphy helped found a company called Small World Software, which develops Internet games. He moved to iXL, an e-commerce consulting firm, in 1998.

In 2000, Murphy took a job with Advantage Capital Partners, a venture-capital firm that focuses on helping small businesses in low-income areas. It was the same year he married his wife, Jen Hogan. "We proposed," Hogan told the New York Times. "I told Scott that the man proposing was sexist." However, she said Murphy still got down on one knee with a ring. ''It reeked of traditional male control,'' she said. ''But it was still really nice.''

After Murphy's father passed away in 2006, he and his family moved to Glens Falls, N.Y., so that his wife could be near her family's dairy farm. Murphy said he attends a 57-person Sunday dinner with Hogan's family nearly every week.

The 2009 House Race

Though Murphy had no previous elected experience, he jumped into the New York House race once Gillibrand was selected to replace Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. He beat 35 other Democrats for the nomination thanks in part to his ability to finance part of his campaign himself. He gave $350,000.

Murphy is much less well-known than his opponent James N. Tedisco, a longtime GOP state assemblyman. The Democrat also faced a statistical disadvantage - the 20th Congressional District, which is based in upstate New York, is heavily Republican (42 percent of voters are registered with the GOP compared with 26 percent registered Democrats), though it broke narrowly for President Obama in the 2008 presidential race.

However, in the days before the election, Murphy gained a slight advantage in the polls. He did so by allying himself closely with Obama and by making the economy a central theme of his campaign. Though Obama did not actively campaign for Murphy, the president recorded a televised endorsement that ran in limited places and send an email urging supporters to donate.

Both sides were accused of running a negative campaign, though Democrats say Republicans hit Murphy early and often; the first GOP attack email went out four hours after Murphy had been chosen as the nominee.

Murphy won with a razor-thin 65 votes, but a recanvassing put him slightly behind Tedisco. In the weeks that followed, a protracted legal battle played out across upstate New York. Nearly two months after the election, Tedisco called his campaign quits, and Murphy was seated.

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