"When you're running for Congress, this is a high federal office," McDermott said. "I can tell you as a public figure ... you don't have that much privacy. We have limited privacy. So I am asking that they be forthcoming with her medical condition. Is she unconscious? She hasn't released a statement. Is she able to speak? Can she walk on her own? I think these are all valid questions that the voters before the primary election have a right to know."

Mink, a Democrat, is seeking re-election in the 2nd congressional district, representing the Neighbor Islands and rural O'ahu. She faces Steve Tataii in the primary. McDermott, a state representative from Foster Village, and James Donovan of the Big Island are running in the Republican primary.

Mink, 74, has viral pneumonia brought on by a case of chicken pox and has been hospitalized in the Straub Hospital & Clinic intensive care unit since Sept. 1. Her family has requested that the hospital withhold information on her medical condition.

Mink's spokesperson, Joan Manke, could not be immediately reached for comment this morning.

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, also a Democrat, said on Monday that Mink is recovering and that she will be able to campaign and serve if re-elected. McDermott said Abercrombie's statement, along with reelection ads Mink has been running, is disingenuous because Mink's family has not been forthcoming about her condition.