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Top Democrat Senator Sent To Hospital On Doctor’s Recommendation

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


Democrat Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the longest serving senator in the history of the Senate, has been rushed to the hospital.

The senator was sent to the hospital on Friday as a “precaution,” after his doctors had suggested it, his office said.

“Senator Leahy was not feeling well and was taken to a Washington area hospital for tests, as a precaution.  He had been at their residence in McLean, Virginia, at the time.  At the recommendation of his doctors, he is expected to remain overnight for observation.  As is our practice, we will offer updates as warranted,” the senator’s office said.

The senator is the third in line for the presidency, behind Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker and California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, CNN reported.

Leahy’s hospitalization underscores Democrats’ delicate majority in the 50-50 Senate. It is unclear how long Leahy will be out, but the chamber is not voting until after next month’s midterm election.

Leahy has been hospitalized a number of times in recent years, including in June when he underwent surgery to repair a broken hip after he fell in his Virginia home, and in January 2021, when he was briefly hospitalized because of “muscle spasms.”

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The longest serving US senator still in office, Leahy announced last year that he would not seek reelection in 2022.

“While I will continue to serve Vermont, Marcelle and I have reached a conclusion: it is time to put down the gavel,” the senator said. “It is time to pass the torch to the next Vermonter, who’ll carry on this work for our great state. It’s time to come home.”

It has been assumed by many that the Republican Party will take back the House of Representatives but even Senate Minority Leader and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell believed that taking back the Senate would not happen.

But a new RealClearPolitics model said that Republicans will take back the Senate with a 52-48 majority in the 2022 midterm elections, The Daily Mail reported.

Senate Republicans are on track to pick up two seats in the western United States in the 2022 midterms to win back a majority in the upper chamber, according to a projection 30 days until Election Day.

Blake Masters could beat out Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, a RealClearPolitics projection shows, despite the incumbent having an average 1.8 percent polling advantage over his GOP challenger in the adjusted October figures.

The projection also estimates that Republican Adam Laxalt will best Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada in November. Laxalt has a 1.3 percent average polling advantage over the incumbent senator in the month ahead of the midterms.

If the Republicans do take back the Senate that would stop President Joe Biden’s agenda as they could block his judicial nominees and policies.

The current 50 / 50 Senate gives Democrats a one vote edge with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie breaking vote, and that has proved to be tough for the administration.

It even showed Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is supported by former President Donald Trump, defeating Democrat John Fetterman, who has been ahead by around four points in the majority of polls.

Another race being closely watched is Republican Herschel Walker and Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia, which just had a bombshell.

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Walker’s Senate campaign got rid of its political director, Taylor Crowe, on Wednesday, believing he was leaking information to the media, CNN reported.

Two people familiar with the matter said Crowe was fired after suspected leaking to members of the media. It is unclear if there were any other factors at play.

Walker campaign manager Scott Paradise declined to comment when reached by CNN on Friday. Crowe himself did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

CNN has not been able to independently verify the allegation against Walker, who has repeatedly denied that he ever paid for an abortion.

His denials have not mattered to the media, which has harped on the allegations that he paid for a woman’s abortion and that the same woman is a mom to one of his kids.

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But they have not paid the same attention to the allegations made by his opponent, Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock’s wife.

In 2020, Warnock was accused by his now ex-wife Ouleye Ndoye of running over her foot with a vehicle. Also, body cam footage of police talking with Ndoye shows her telling officers that her then-husband is a “great actor.”

“This man’s running for United States Senate, and all he cares about right now is his reputation,” she said.

“I work at the mayor’s office, and this is a big problem. I’ve been trying to be very quiet about the way that he is for the sake of my kids and his reputation,” she added, going on to explain that she has “tried to keep the way that he acts under wraps for a long time, and today he crossed the line.”

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