American voters are demanding answers about Mitch McConnell's health after he was loaded into the back of an ambulance and disappeared from the public. A Daily Mail/JL Partners poll found that just 9 percent of voters are very confident the 84-year-old Kentucky senator will survive to the end of his term. Another 17 percent say they are somewhat confident he will make it, while 24 percent are not very confident. Some 25 percent are not confident at all, and 26 percent are unsure. McConnell was admitted to the hospital on June 14, the same day emergency personnel responded to a call at his home where dispatch audio referenced a cardiac arrest. 

The senator's office never confirmed the call was about McConnell and provided limited information about his health condition. His neighbors told the Daily Mail that two of the senator's aides were 'obviously distraught' and 'crying' as he was taken to the hospital by emergency responders. But McConnell's staff refused for weeks to disclose why he was admitted, or the state of his condition, and the information vacuum sparked speculation and rumors online that he was dead.

The poll suggests those rumors have taken hold, with three in ten voters, 30 percent, saying it is somewhat or very believable that McConnell is no longer alive. Only 17 percent call the claim not at all believable, while 11 percent say it is somewhat unbelievable, 24 percent say neither and 17 percent remain unsure. McConnell finally broke his silence on July 12, telling Kentuckians in a letter that a fall last month left him briefly unconscious and that he has also been dealing with a mild case of pneumonia. The senator said doctors confirmed he suffered no broken bones, concussion, heart attack, stroke, tumors or hemorrhages, and he released a photo alongside his wife Elaine Chao.

McConnell also said he was moving from the hospital to a rehabilitation center to continue regaining his strength. Voters overwhelmingly believe the disclosure came too late, with 54 percent saying McConnell should have revealed his health problems earlier. However, 20 percent of voters say he was right not to and 26 percent who are unsure. The weeks of secrecy drew growing demands for information, including from Kentucky's Democratic Governor Andy Beshear. McConnell suffered several other health incidents in recent months, including a public fall in the US Capitol. He was seen using a wheelchair for the better part of the year. Fellow Republicans, such as Senate Majority Leader John Thune insisted they had recently spoken with McConnell and that he remained in good spirits.

The wave of distrust comes at a jittery moment for the aging Senate, after the sudden death of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. Graham, 71, died at his Washington home on the night of July 11 just hours after returning from a trip to Ukraine. The District of Columbia medical examiner's preliminary findings later attributed his death to an aortic dissection. Even with that official explanation, 37 percent of voters say they are concerned about Graham's cause of death, while 45 percent say they are unconcerned. The Daily Mail poll surveyed 1,021 registered voters online between July 17 and July 20, and the poll carries a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points using rounded figures.