Sen. Murphy 'awake and alert' after stroke

Savannah Behrmann, CQ-Roll Call on Nov 1, 2026

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Sen. Christopher S. Murphy was hospitalized after having a stroke on Saturday, the Connecticut Democrat’s office said in a statement.

The 53-year-old started experiencing “numbness in his arm while at his son’s hockey game” and was “was taken to a local hospital, where it was discovered he had experienced a stroke,” Allison Herwitt, Murphy’s chief of staff, said Sunday.

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

Murphy is closing in on his second decade in Congress. He was first elected to the House in 2006, and, six years later, won election to the Senate, where he is currently in his third term. In recent weeks, the potential 2028 presidential contender has campaigned for Democrats across the country ahead of the midterm elections. Earlier this month, he also traveled to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Murphy is one of several senators who have experienced strokes in recent years.

Democratic Sens. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland were hospitalized in 2022. Before his election to the Senate the same year, Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman had a stroke that led to speech and auditory issues.