Every year for the past decade, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy has spent a week walking across the state as a way of connecting with constituents.

"I do think there's something about the t-shirt and the baseball cap that allows the conversation to become pretty natural. People drop their defenses pretty quickly and almost everybody ends up sharing something with me that they think is important for someone to hear," Murphy told News 12 Friday along Route 53 in Bethel.

"It's definitely clear that this year, [President Donald] Trump is a pretty constant topic. There's a lot of people who see me walking, they pull their car over and they say, 'Oh, thank you for fighting him. I'm really worried about our democracy -- what can I do to help?' And I tell them to go to a protest -- because it matters," Murphy said.

Murphy says he varies the time and route of his walk every year to reach different people and different communities.