Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy has stroke and is in the hospital, office says

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, was hospitalized Saturday after suffering a stroke at his son's hockey game, his office announced on Sunday.

Murphy is "awake and alert," according to a statement from his chief of staff, Allison Herwitt.

"Yesterday afternoon, Senator Murphy started experiencing numbness in his arm while at his son's hockey game. He was taken to a local hospital, where it was discovered he had experienced a stroke. He was transferred to Johns Hopkins for further monitoring and is responding well to treatment," Herwitt said.

Johns Hopkins Hospital's main campus is in Baltimore, though it has other locations in and around Washington.

"The doctors are encouraged by his progress," Herwitt said. "We are optimistic he will make a full recovery."

Murphy, who came to the Senate in 2013, is not up for reelection on Tuesday, but he's been crisscrossing the country campaigning for Democratic candidates, with recent stops in Michigan, Minnesota and Florida. He was due in New Hampshire on Sunday to campaign with Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Chris Pappas.

He's seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate and is a prolific Democratic fundraiser.

Murphy, 53, spent six years in the House before running for the Senate. He rose to national prominence as an advocate for stricter gun control laws in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, which occurred in his home state. He's been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and has opposed the war in Iran and the White House's deportation policies.

He's one of multiple sitting senators to suffer a stroke in recent years.

Democratic Sens. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland each had a stroke in 2022. And Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., who was then running for office, suffered a stroke just days before his state's Senate Democratic primary.

"Thinking of my great friend & colleague, Chris Murphy. I know how fiercely he fights & I'm certain I'll be welcoming him back to the Senate soon," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a fellow Connecticut Democrat, posted to X on Sunday.