Sen. Chris Murphy transferred to Johns Hopkins after stroke

Sen. Chris Murphy, the 53-year-old Connecticut Democrat widely discussed as a 2028 presidential contender, suffered a stroke on Saturday afternoon at his son's hockey game and is being monitored at Johns Hopkins Hospital two days before Tuesday's midterm elections.

His chief of staff, Allison Herwitt, disclosed the hospitalization in a statement on Sunday. Murphy began experiencing numbness in his arm while he was at the game and was taken to a local hospital, where doctors found he had experienced a stroke. He was then transferred to Johns Hopkins for further monitoring.

The statement did not say what type of stroke Murphy had, how severe it was, how long he is expected to remain in the hospital, or what treatment he has received.

Where he is being treated

Johns Hopkins Hospital's main campus is in Baltimore, and the system has other locations in and around Washington, CNBC reported. Herwitt did not name the local hospital where Murphy was first treated, and his office has not announced a timeline for his release.

Murphy came to the Senate in 2013 after six years in the House of Representatives, and he sits on the Appropriations and Foreign Relations committees, which handle federal spending and US diplomacy.

Beyond Sunday's statement, no further information about Murphy's condition was released, ABC News reported, and his office has been the only source of detail about his treatment.

The symptoms began on Saturday, October 31, and the office issued its public account the following day, though staff had begun calling people about the hospitalization on Saturday, the Connecticut Mirror reported. The elections Murphy had spent weeks campaigning for are on Tuesday, November 3.

He was transferred to Johns Hopkins for further monitoring and is responding well to treatment. The doctors are encouraged by his progress, he is awake and alert, and we are optimistic he will make a full recovery.

Murphy rose to national prominence as an advocate for stricter gun laws after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in his home state. He is a leading Democratic voice on immigration and a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, and he has opposed the war in Iran and the White House's deportation policies.

The final weekend of campaigning

Murphy had spent recent weeks traveling the country for Democratic candidates, with stops in Michigan, Minnesota and Florida, CNBC reported. He is one of his party's biggest fundraisers, and NPR described him as a prolific campaign surrogate through the midterm cycle. Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz each said they were with him at Connecticut events on Friday, urging residents to vote, WFSB reported.

He had been scheduled to appear on Sunday in New Hampshire alongside the Democratic candidates Chris Pappas and Stefany Shaheen, Salon reported. Pappas, a member of the House, is running for an open Senate seat, and the New Hampshire Democratic Party had listed the appearance, according to ABC News.

Speculation about a 2028 presidential campaign grew in 2025 after Murphy reported raising $8 million in the first three months of that year, even though his Senate seat was not on the ballot. He has not announced a campaign. NPR has described him as a foreign policy leader within the party and a champion of aggressive oversight of the executive branch.

Murphy returned recently from a multistop tour of the Middle East, after which he warned that Trump would dramatically escalate his war on Iran once the midterm elections were over, NPR reported.

Murphy said last week that some lawmakers had been briefed on what he called a plan to restart the war with Iran after the election. At a Middle East Institute event, he rejected descriptions of it as short in duration, called the plan insane and warned of devastating escalation. Coverage of his remarks carried no response from the Pentagon or the White House.

Murphy is not on Tuesday's ballot. His seat, which he won for a third time in 2024, is not up for reelection until 2030.

Well wishes from both parties

Sen. John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat who had a stroke in 2022 that he later described as near fatal, said on social media that his family was rooting for Murphy and his family. Lawmakers from both parties offered support, among them Sen. Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, Salon reported.

As someone who survived a near-fatal stroke, I understand all too well how much this impacts your life

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Murphy's fellow Connecticut Democrat, said he was certain he would be welcoming him back to the Senate soon. Lamont said he and his wife, Annie, were keeping the senator and his family in their prayers. Attorney General William Tong and Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam also issued statements, WFSB reported.

Strokes among sitting senators

Murphy is the fourth Senate Democrat to have a stroke in recent years, Salon reported. Sens. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland each had one in 2022 and recovered. Fetterman had his that year while running for the Senate, days before Pennsylvania's Democratic primary, and now uses live-captioning technology to help with auditory processing during Senate proceedings.

Then-Sen. Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican, had a stroke in 2012. Murphy is also the latest member of Congress to face a health crisis this year. Sen. Mitch McConnell missed months of Senate work during a lengthy hospital stay and rehabilitation, and Rep. Tom Kean was absent from the Capitol for months for what he later said was treatment for depression, NPR reported.

Dr. Kevin N. Sheth, director of the Yale Center for Brain & Mind Health, said strokes can occur at any age, including in young adults and occasionally young children, according to WFSB. He said there is increasing evidence that young and middle-aged people are having higher rates of stroke, and that immediate medical treatment is critical.

Strokes affect approximately 800,000 Americans annually and rank as the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the experts cited by the station.

A first stroke raises the risk of another, Sheth said, and he described even a mild one as a reason to redouble efforts at prevention. The warning signs listed in the report include sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, trouble speaking or understanding speech, vision problems and loss of balance. Risk factors include high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, smoking, obesity and diabetes.

No date for his return

Murphy's office has not said when he will leave Johns Hopkins or when he expects to return to the Senate. It has not described the cause of the stroke, and further updates are expected to come from the office, which published Sunday's account directly.

The only public account of what happened at the rink on Saturday is the one Herwitt gave the next day.