Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota fell ill yesterday with what are described as stroke-like symptoms.  Johnson, 59, fell ill while conducting a conference call with news reporters from the Capitol’s Senate recording studio.   He was rushed to George Washington University Hospital early yesterday afternoon.  The senator underwent emergency brain surgery overnight, and a hospital spokesperson describes Johnson’s condition as critical.  Johnson spokesman Noah Pinegar said the senator “became disoriented” during the conference call.  The Washington Post reports:

‘He had difficulty completing a response to a question,’ Pinegar said, so aides ended the call and walked with him back to Hart Senate Office Building.  When they arrived, Pinegar said, Johnson ‘wasn’t himself.’  A team from the Capitol physician’s office quickly arrived and sent the senator to the hospital by ambulance.  Johnson’s wife, Barbara, was with him at the hospital as tests were being conducted last night, Pinegar said.

Should Johnson be unable to fill his seat in the upcoming 110th Congress due to his illness, Democratic control of the Senate could be in jeopardy.  The Post continues:

The two-term senator’s illness—which sent Senate Democratic leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) rushing to the hospital to check on Johnson—underscored the fragility of Democrats’ hold on the next Senate, which they won by the narrowest of margins in the Nov. 7 elections.  Should Johnson be unable to complete his term, South Dakota’s Republican governor, Michael Rounds, would name a replacement for the next two years.  With Johnson in office, Democrats would hold a 51-to-49 edge in the Senate that convenes Jan. 4 as part of the 110th Congress. (The two independents have said they will caucus with the Democrats.) But if he is to leave office before then and Rounds replaces him with a Republican, the GOP would control the chamber.

Yeah.  With Dick Cheney holding the tie-breaking vote, no less.  Post reporters Charles Babington and Jonathan Weisman contacted the office of the South Dakota Governor yesterday, but the office declined to comment on the situation and limited its response to a statement by the governor which “offered prayers for Johnson and hope for ‘good news for our friend and colleague’”.

Meanwhile, Republican vultures are circling Capitol Hill this morning looking for carcasses.

Life goes on, of course.  Any bets on when the “conspiracy theory” rumblings start?  Don Imus has already floated the idea that Mary Matalin might have had a hand in it….

Technorati Tags: Democratic, Senator, Tim Johnson, stroke, conference call, news reporters, Capitol, Senate, George Washington University Hospital, emergency, brain surgery, critical, disoriented, 110th Congress, illness, Democratic control, jeopardy, Dick Cheney, tie-breaking vote, South Dakota, Republican, vultures, Capitol Hill, carcasses

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