CONNECTICUT, US — With Chris Murphy hospitalized after suffering a stroke Saturday, his office said Sunday that the Connecticut senator is awake, alert and responding well to treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
Murphy, 53, began experiencing numbness in his arm while attending his son’s hockey game on the afternoon of Oct. 31, 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, before being transferred to Johns Hopkins.
“The doctors are encouraged by his progress, he is awake and alert, and we are optimistic he will make a full recovery,” Herwitt said.
The statement did not identify the type of stroke, detail the treatment Murphy received or provide a timetable for his discharge and return to Senate duties.
Colleagues offer support with Chris Murphy hospitalized
The hospitalization came during the final days of campaigning before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Murphy is not on this year’s ballot but had been traveling in support of Democratic candidates.
He had been scheduled to campaign in New Hampshire on Sunday with US Rep. Chris Pappas, the Democratic candidate for Senate, according to the Connecticut Mirror.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said he had been with Murphy on Friday as the senator encouraged residents to vote. Lamont expressed support for Murphy and his family and said he hoped to see him walking across Connecticut again soon, a reference to the senator’s annual constituent outreach tradition.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut’s other US senator, described Murphy as a close friend and colleague and expressed confidence that he would welcome him back to the Senate.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke during his own Senate campaign in 2022, also offered support for Murphy and his family. Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska offered prayers following the announcement.
A leading role in bipartisan gun legislation
Murphy has represented Connecticut in the Senate since January 2013. He won reelection in 2018 and 2024, and his current term runs through January 2031. Before entering the Senate, he served three terms in the House of Representatives and previously served in Connecticut’s state legislature.
He became a prominent advocate for tighter gun laws following the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. His work in Congress has also included mental health policy, manufacturing and foreign affairs.
In 2022, Murphy was one of four principal Senate negotiators behind the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, working alongside Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis and then-Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law June 25, 2022.
The law expanded background checks for firearm purchasers younger than 21, established federal offenses for gun trafficking and straw purchasing, and provided funding for mental health services, school safety and state crisis intervention programs.
Murphy began his third Senate term in January 2025. At the time, his office announced that he would continue serving on the Appropriations Committee, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the Foreign Relations Committee.
His office’s Sunday update left the timing of his return to those duties unresolved while doctors continued monitoring his recovery.
