Another 'Mitch McConnell situation' underway as GOP rep goes MIA

Sen. Mitch McConnell meets with reporters following the weekly Senate caucus luncheons on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 24, 2024. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

An eerily similar GOP lawmaker absence is currently taking place in Texas, with reporter Jake Lahut detailing the story of an elderly congressman who has vanished from the midterm campaign trail in a new "Mitch McConnell situation."

Best known for his time as the Republican Senate majority leader, McConnell caused widespread alarm earlier this year when he vanished from the public eye after being hospitalized. The lack of clarity in the 84-year-old's staff communications about the situation led to widespread conspiracy theories about his condition, and sparked a renewed conversation about the risks of elderly lawmakers clinging to power. While McConnell eventually returned to work, his evident condition still caused alarm, as he seemed frail and lacking awareness of things around him.

Now, another elderly Republican lawmaker, Rep. John Carter of Texas, 84, has vanished from the public eye for weeks, as sources indicated to Lahut.

"Last week, I got a tip that an octogenarian congressman in Texas had essentially gone missing from the campaign trail. Aside from some votes in mid-September, Rep. John Carter (R, TX-31) has hardly been seen in recent months," Lahut wrote on his personal SubStack. "Referring to the 84 year-old congressman as 'the father of Republican politics' in Williamson County, part of the Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park area north of Austin that comprises much of the district, [former Republican mayor of Georgetown, Texas, Dale] Ross said he has heard that Carter is dealing with serious memory loss issues and other potential illnesses."

"John should have hung it up years ago," Ross said. “You hear stuff about slurred speech and things like that. But he just likes being a congressman. It’s like a Mitch McConnell thing.”

Ross also told Lahut that he plans to break with the GOP for the first time in years to vote for James Talarico in the Texas Senate race.

“Everybody’s wondering, why do you keep doing this at 84-years-old?” Ross said. “This isn’t the Republican Party I’ve known all my life.”

"October surprises and late tips are something I tend to view with suspicion," Lahut added. "However, after the Austin NPR affiliate KUT ran this story on Carter going missing from the campaign trail — including a brief phone interview where the congressman sounds incoherent — I felt compelled to publish parts of my interview with mayor Ross... I was initially cautious about reporting on Carter’s health, but after hearing him in that interview, it’s clear something serious is going on. His opponent, Justin Early, stood outside of Carter’s campaign office with coffee and donuts, waiting for him to come out as supporters chanted 'Where’s John Carter,' according to the KUT report. Carter never showed, and told Williamson County reporter Kailey Hunt, 'No, I’m perfectly well enough to hold office and I'll be up there next week.' The quote was barely intelligible."

Carter would only disclose in the interview that he was dealing with "issues at home" to explain his absence.

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