Mitch McConnell

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is facing intense scrutiny from Americans as he recovers after being hospitalized more than a month ago, according to a new poll.

The latest Daily Mail/JL Partners poll, released Wednesday, found that just 9% of voters are very confident the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican will survive until the end of his term, which ends early January. Another 24% said they are not very confident, and 25% said they are not confident at all.

At the same time, 17% of respondents said they are somewhat confident he will finish his term, per the survey. Twenty-six percent remain unsure.

McConnell’s office provided few details after the Kentucky Republican was hospitalized on June 14.

The limited disclosure fueled unverified theories online for weeks that McConnell’s condition may be dire, including that he may be brain dead or experiencing organ failure.

But the longtime senator broke his silence on July 12, revealing in a statement to his constituents that he is recovering from a fall that left him “briefly unconscious,” as well as a subsequent “mild case” of pneumonia.

McConnell added that he expects to return to the Senate to finish the remainder of his term, but he did not provide a timeline.

He also included a photo of him smiling beside his wife, Elaine Chao, and noted that he had moved to a rehabilitation center to continue regaining his strength.

Despite breaking his silence, his office has declined to answer “basic questions” about McConnell this week, including whether he has spoken to his staff in recent days, his cognitive status and when he is expected to return to work, The Daily Beast reported Tuesday.

Meanwhile, several critics are still calling for more transparency from McConnell outside of the statement, such as a recorded video of him saying that he is OK.

The poll suggests that the speculation has started to take hold on some voters, with the highest number of respondents — 30% — saying it is somewhat or very believable that McConnell is no longer alive. Seventeen percent said it is not at all believable, while 11% believe it is somewhat not believable.

When asked if McConnell’s office should have been more transparent about his health earlier, 54% said it should have, compared to 20% who said he was right not to and 26% who are uncertain.

The poll was conducted between July 17 and July 20 among 1,021 registered voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.