Mitch McConnell

Ohio voters on Nov. 3 will pick a successor to term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine, with Republican Vivek Ramaswamy facing Democrat Amy Acton and Libertarian Don Kissick. The same ballot includes a special U.S. Senate election to fill the remainder of JD Vance's term, pitting incumbent appointee Jon Husted against challengers; the winner serves until 2028. All 15 Ohio U.S. House seats are also up, under a new Republican-favorable congressional map targeting Democratic-held districts. In Kentucky, Republican Andy Barr and Democrat Charles Booker are competing for the seat long held by retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell. Indiana will re-elect its House delegation, and ballot measures appear in all three states.

Sen. Mitch McConnell continued his return to the Senate this week, casting his first vote in more than three months on Monday after a five-week recess and appearing again Tuesday, when he voted to advance cryptocurrency legislation known as the Clarity Act. The Kentucky Republican, 84, had been out of public view since being hospitalized June 14 following a fall and a slight case of pneumonia, later moving to a rehabilitation center before being discharged August 6 to continue recovery and physical therapy at home. He has been seen being pushed onto the floor in a wheelchair.

Reaction has split along party lines. Kentucky Republicans, including Senate President Robert Stivers, praised McConnell's dedication and wished him well. Democrats, including Gov. Andy Beshear and Rep. Morgan McGarvey, welcomed his return but renewed calls for greater transparency about his health and absence.

McConnell has said his recovery has been "long and often frustrating," compounded by lingering effects of childhood polio, and that he is not yet back to full strength. He has assured Majority Leader John Thune he will keep up physical therapy and attend key votes, including a stalled farm bill in committee and looming government funding deadlines before the fiscal year ends September 30.

Montana has enacted the nation's most expansive "right-to-try" law, letting any resident—not just terminally ill patients—access experimental drugs that have only completed Phase I trials showing basic safety, without proven effectiveness. This breaks sharply from federal right-to-try rules, including those signed during Trump's first term, which require patients to have exhausted approved treatments.

Biotech startups see Montana as a workaround to the FDA's costly approval process. Infinita, a company tied to a deregulated zone in Honduras and led by CEO Niklas Anzinger, runs the only review board approving treatments so far, charging companies a application fee; it approved its first treatment last month. Critics, including patient advocates, warn of conflicts of interest and unproven claims reaching vulnerable patients. The program's future depends on whether the FDA intervenes—an open question, especially with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has touted his own use of unapproved treatments, expressing support for expanded access. FDA officials met with industry and patient groups in June but gave no commitment on enforcement.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., could return to Capitol Hill when the Senate reconvenes on Sept. 14, according to House Oversight Chair James Comer, who said he expects McConnell to be present but has spoken only with McConnell's staff, not the senator himself.

McConnell, 84, was hospitalized June 14 following a fall and a subsequent bout with pneumonia. He was later transferred to a rehabilitation facility before being discharged last month to continue recovering at home. He has not appeared publicly since, with proof-of-life limited to staff-issued photos and statements. McConnell has not cast a Senate vote since June 11, aside from a proxy vote last month. Comer said McConnell's staff, many of whom are from his district, have told him it's their goal for the senator to be present when the Senate returns from recess Sept. 14, though a spokesperson for McConnell's office has not confirmed a timeline.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear reiterated Sunday on CBS News's "Face the Nation" that he has "heard absolutely nothing back" from Sen. Mitch McConnell, more than two months into the senator's absence. Beshear said he wishes McConnell good health but called the Republican-controlled Senate unaccountable, saying McConnell "absolutely refuses" to address the public directly even briefly, and faulted Senate Majority Leader John Thune for deferring to McConnell's office rather than ensuring senators have the capacity to serve.

McConnell, 84, has not cast a Senate vote since June 11 following a fall and hospitalization at his Capitol Hill home in mid-June. He later disclosed a brief loss of consciousness and pneumonia, moved to a rehab facility, and was discharged to recover at home on Aug. 6, with no timeline for returning to work. His office says he has no fractures, concussion, heart attack, or stroke and continues physical therapy while engaging on Senate business. Some Senate Republicans, including Sen. Roger Marshall, have expressed confidence McConnell will return before his term ends; he is not seeking reelection. The Senate returns from recess Sept. 14.