As questions about McConnell's health grow, Charles Booker calls for answers

Tessa Duvall and Hannah Pinski, Lexington Herald-Leader on Jul 2, 2026

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The Democrat vying to replace Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate says Kentuckians deserve to know “if our senator is alert, conscious, or capable of serving” more than two weeks after the 84-year-old was hospitalized for an unspecified reason.

Charles Booker, the Democrat facing off against Republican nominee Andy Barr, released a lengthy statement Thursday afternoon calling for transparency about McConnell’s health.

Booker said that while he was sensitive to the personal nature of medical emergencies, “our entire commonwealth and country are vested” in McConnell’s condition.

“It’s time we know what’s happening. When we don’t know if our senator is alert, conscious, or capable of serving, that’s not a partisan question. It’s a Kentucky one,” Booker said. “What is clear is that we have known for some time that Mitch McConnell has lacked the capacity to represent us in the Senate. That fact, along with the developing news now, is deeply concerning.

“Continuing to ignore this is not leadership. It’s elder abuse. And it’s time for him to relinquish the business of Kentucky back to the people.”

McConnell was hospitalized June 14, but his team did not give details about his condition at the time, only saying he was receiving “excellent care.”

On June 22, spokesperson Stephanie Penn said he would not vote in the Senate that week but is working “closely” with staff as his health continues to recover.

Dispatch audio obtained by national media outlets this week revealed first responders performed CPR on someone experiencing “cardiac arrest” at a known address for McConnell the same day his hospitalization was announced, according to NBC news.

McConnell’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Herald-Leader request for comment on the Booker statement Thursday afternoon.

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