(CNN) — Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton was home Monday night after fainting during his State of the State address, his chief of staff said.
EMTs performed a routine check on the governor at the Capitol and cleared him to leave, Chief of Staff Jaime Tincher said in a statement. The 69-year-old Democrat is home with his family and plans to present his 2017 budget Tuesday morning as planned.
“Tonight, Gov. Dayton briefly fainted after speaking for about 40 minutes. He quickly recovered, walked out of the Capitol and returned home,” Tincher said.
“Gov. Dayton and his entire staff thank the people of Minnesota for their outpouring of support and concern.”
Video of the event showed aides rushing to catch Dayton before he fell to the floor. The session adjourned and the live feed ended.
About 25 minutes later, WCCO reporter Patrick Kessler tweeted that the governor was conscious and “joking with paramedics.”
Video of the event showed Dayton stumbling earlier in the evening as he walked up the lectern.
The governor was touting the success of the Affordable Care Act and MNSure, the state’s health care marketplace, when he fell ill.
He paused for a sip of water and briefly resumed speaking before he began to slump onto the lectern.
Speaker of the House Kurt Daudt was among many Minnesotans to wish the governor a speedy recovery.
“Gov. Dayton is in my thoughts and prayers tonight,” Daudt said in a statement. “I was encouraged to see him walk from the House chamber on his own and I join Minnesotans in wishing him a speedy recovery.”
