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Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy hospitalized after stroke, his office says

His chief of staff says the 53-year-old Democrat is awake and alert at Johns Hopkins, and the office is optimistic he will fully recover.

26 news outlets reported this
Liberal12 outletsCenter5 outletsConservative9 outlets
Published 3 min read
Overview

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, 53, was hospitalized after a stroke, his office said in a statement on Sunday, Nov. 1. Chief of staff Allison Herwitt said that on Saturday Murphy felt numbness in his arm during his son's hockey game. A local hospital found he had suffered a stroke, and he was then moved to Johns Hopkins for monitoring.

Herwitt said he is responding well to treatment, is awake and alert, and that doctors are encouraged by his progress. She said the office is optimistic he will make a full recovery. The statement did not give the severity of the stroke or say when he might leave the hospital.

Murphy is not on the ballot in Tuesday's elections, but he had spent recent weeks campaigning for Democratic candidates and had been scheduled to campaign in New Hampshire on Sunday. Some view him as a possible 2028 presidential candidate. Sen. John Fetterman, who had a stroke in 2022, said his family is rooting for Murphy's recovery.

Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Pete Ricketts also offered prayers.

Three sides of the story

Liberal12 outlets

Left-leaning outlets report the stroke through Herwitt's statement, then place Murphy in his political role. CBS News says he has "crisscrossed the country" backing midterm candidates and has been viewed as a possible 2028 contender. The Guardian calls him a "towering figure" in the and "one of the most prominent voices for gun reform" since the Sandy Hook shooting.

It quotes Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, who was with him Friday evening as he urged people to vote. The Independent says he made his name on immigration and gun restrictions. It counts him among Senate Democrats who have had strokes, naming Lujan, Van Hollen and Fetterman, and notes prayers from Republican Sens. Grassley and Ricketts.

MS NOW says details on the stroke's severity have not been made public. It adds that as the Foreign Relations Committee's ranking member he would be in line to chair it if Democrats win the Senate. It quotes Rep. Ro Khanna: "We need his leadership to stand up against foreign wars and corruption."

Center5 outlets

Centrist outlets report the stroke from chief of staff Allison Herwitt's statement and set it against the final days of the midterm campaign. Axios calls Murphy "one of the Senate's more visible Democrats" who has been traveling the country ahead of Tuesday's midterms. It quotes Sen. John Fetterman saying he understands "all too well how much this impacts your life," and notes that the statement gave neither the stroke's severity nor a discharge date.

UPI quotes Herwitt saying doctors are encouraged and "we are optimistic he will make a full recovery." UPI also describes Murphy as seen as a possible 2028 presidential candidate and says he was expected at events in New Hampshire on Sunday. Straight Arrow News places the stroke on Saturday night, says he is not running in the midterms, and labels the story as developing.

Border Report's headline says Murphy had a stroke and is in the hospital, according to his office.

Conservative9 outlets

Right-leaning outlets carry Herwitt's statement and add detail on Murphy's campaigning and politics. The Daily Caller says it received the statement in writing. It lists other senators who have had strokes and notes that Mitch McConnell was hospitalized and stayed away from the Capitol for months.

It says Murphy has pushed Democrats toward a more aggressive stance in checking President Donald Trump, and that he warned at a Middle East Institute event that Trump could try to restart the Iran war after the election. The Washington Examiner says he has backed what it calls leftist Democratic Senate candidates, including Abdul el Sayed, Angie Nixon and Peggy Flanagan, and visited the Middle East this fall. Fox News says he has stumped to help Democrats retake the Senate majority and gives his birth date as Aug. 3, 1973.

The Daily Wire quotes the statement, citing Politico, and adds that his staff began notifying people of the hospitalization on Saturday afternoon.

Where outlets disagree
  • Time of day of the stroke
    • Straight Arrow News: Murphy suffered the stroke Saturday night while at his son's hockey game.
    • Fox News: Murphy began feeling numbness Saturday afternoon at the game, per his chief of staff.
All sources: 27 articles from 26 outlets

Liberal (12)

Center (6)

Conservative (9)

Midterm elections

US elections halfway through a president's four-year term. The whole House, a third of the Senate and many governors are elected. In 2026 Election Day is November 3.

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Senate

The upper chamber of Congress: 100 senators, two per state, elected for six years. It confirms judges and ministers and approves treaties.

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