Murphy Expected to Recover Fully After Stroke
The Connecticut senator is awake and alert at Johns Hopkins after symptoms appeared during a hockey game.
By Julia Wang ·
53-year-old U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy is currently hospitalized in Baltimore following a stroke. His office confirmed the diagnosis on Sunday afternoon, noting that he was transferred to Johns Hopkins for monitoring after an initial visit to an area hospital. He is described as awake and alert and is responding well to treatment.
Murphy first noticed numbness in his arm on Saturday afternoon. He was at his son's hockey game at the time of the incident. Allison Herwitt, his chief of staff, said doctors are encouraged by his progress. She expressed optimism that he will make a full recovery.
The senator has been active in the midterm elections. He campaigned in Connecticut and several swing states over the past few weeks to support Democratic candidates. He was scheduled to be in New Hampshire on Sunday to campaign with Rep. Chris Pappas. Before the stroke, he was knocking on doors in Connecticut on Friday to support Gov. Ned Lamont's re-election bid.
Lamont praised Murphy in a Sunday statement, calling him a strong advocate for democracy and the people of the state. Lamont predicted that Murphy would be walking across the state again soon. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Murphy's fellow Connecticut senator, also sent a message of support. He called Murphy a great friend and colleague and expressed certainty that he would welcome him back to the Senate soon.
Murphy is not on the ballot in November, but he has been mentioned as a potential 2028 presidential candidate. He first elected to the Senate in 2012 after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before entering Congress, he served in the Connecticut state Senate and House. His health issue adds to a list of recent medical events affecting members of Congress.
Other senators have faced similar challenges in recent years. Sens. Ben Ray Lujan and Chris Van Hollen both had strokes in 2022 and have since recovered. Sen. John Fetterman suffered a stroke while campaigning in 2022. He now uses adaptive technology, such as live captioning on a tablet, to process conversations in the Senate. Fetterman posted on social media Sunday that his family is rooting for Murphy's speedy recovery. Sen. Mitch McConnell returned to the Senate in September after a three month absence due to a fall in June.
Source: Connecticut Public Television
