Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy was hospitalized Saturday after suffering a stroke while attending his son’s hockey game, his office announced Sunday, just days before Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Murphy, 53, began experiencing numbness in his arm Saturday afternoon at the game, according to a statement from his chief of staff, Allison Herwitt. He was taken to a local hospital, where doctors determined he had suffered a stroke, and was later transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for further monitoring.
Herwitt said the senator is responding well to treatment and that his doctors are encouraged by his progress. She described Murphy as “awake and alert” and said his staff is optimistic he will make a full recovery.
The statement did not say how severe the stroke was or when Murphy might be released, and no further details about his condition have been made public.
President Trump, whom Murphy has frequently criticized, told reporters Sunday afternoon that he had only just learned of the hospitalization and would reach out to the senator at the right time. The president noted that Murphy is a fairly young man, said he was surprised by the news, and added that nobody wants to go through something like that.
The two have clashed repeatedly over the president’s policies. In August 2025, Trump fired back on Truth Social after Murphy criticized the president’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, mocking the senator’s claim that Putin had gotten everything he wanted.
Lawmakers offered well-wishes Sunday. Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke during his 2022 Senate campaign, said in a statement that he understands all too well how a stroke affects a person’s life and that his family is rooting for Murphy’s recovery.
Murphy is one of several sitting senators to suffer a stroke in recent years.
The health scare comes at a critical moment for the Connecticut Democrat. Though he is not on the ballot this year, Murphy has been traveling the country campaigning for Democratic candidates in the final stretch before Election Day. He is also widely seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender.
Murphy has represented Connecticut in the Senate since 2013, after spending six years in the House of Representatives.
He also stands to gain significant clout on Capitol Hill if Democrats flip the Senate. As the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Murphy would be in line to become the panel’s chairman under a Democratic majority, a post that would hand him a powerful platform to challenge the Trump administration’s foreign policy.
For now, his office has offered no timeline for his return to the campaign trail or to the Senate.
