For the past six months or so, the refrain in media and political circles has been the same: Don't allow the news of the day to distract from the investigation of Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., is now suggesting that this refrain may have it backward. In fact, he intimated Wednesday, the obsession with this Russia thing may actually be hurting the Democratic Party at the polls.

"[T]he Democrats have to be hyper-focused on an economic message that tells people that the Republican Party is all about economic growth for millionaires and billionaires. And the Democratic Party is about economic growth for everybody," the Connecticut senator said in an MSNBC interview the morning after his party lost a costly and heated special election in Georgia's 6th Congressional District.

The Democratic Party's loss this week marks its fourth straight special election defeat since Donald Trump won the White House on Nov. 8, 2016

Murphy added Wednesday morning, "The fact that we had spent so much time talking about Russia has you know, has been a distraction from what should be the clear contrast between Democrats and the Trump agenda, which is on economics."

This is basically a 180-degree turn from what the Democrats and their allies in the press have been hammering away at since the Nov. 8 election, which has been Russia, Russia and Russia.

The simplest Google search turns up multiple stories showing Democratic lawmakers and left-wing commentators urging voters not to lose focus on the investigation.

On Feb. 24, for example, The Hill published a story about Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., titled "Dem senator: Don't let leaks distract from real issue of Russian interference."

"Trump Steps up Effort to Dispute and Distract on Russia" read a headline that appeared on April 3 on the U.S. News & World Report website.

The Guardian published a story referencing Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on March 30 titled, "Lead Democrat accuses White House of distracting from Trump-Russia inquiry."

"Top Democrat on intelligence panel accuses White House of trying to distract Congress from Russia investigation," read an April 2 Washington Post report about the same Democratic lawmaker.

The Huffington Post published a report on June 6 titled "Democrats Say Trump's Infrastructure Push Is An Attempt To Distract From Russia Probe."

The left-wing explainer website vox.com published an opinion article on June 14 titled "Jeff Sessions is trying to distract you from the heart of the Russia scandal."

And so on.

Murphy, for his part, seemed to suggest Wednesday that his party has been focusing on the wrong things since losing the presidential election. He even hinted that Democrats may have overplayed their hand in assuming voters are as invested in the Russia investigation.

"You know, when I'm back in Connecticut, I often get on a commuter bus and ride it for just an hour to talk to folks that, you know, frankly don't normally call my office or write my office. And I'll just say they are never talking about issues like Russia," the senator said. "They are not talking frankly about what's on cable news at night. They are talking about the same things – wages, they're talking about education, they're talking about public safety.

He added, "And so I think Democrats have to be hyper-focused on an economic contrast. And I think this president is handing it to us. He is using this administration, this presidency, to enrich himself and his millionaire friends. We've got to be focused on an economic agenda for everybody else."

For now, Murphy is mostly alone in his party in suggesting it should maybe back away from the Russia focus. But after Democrats lost a drawn-out and extremely expensive election to Republicans in Georgia Tuesday evening, the senator may soon have company.