Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear declined to say whether he will replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell with a Republican, as is required by state law, should the octogenarian step down early amid apparent health problems.
Back in 2021, Kentucky Republicans overrode Beshear’s veto and passed a law requiring Senate vacancies to be temporarily filled by someone with the same party affiliation of the departing senator.
This law has drawn renewed attention amid McConnell’s various health woes, such as his freezing incident last week, when the 81-year-old remained silent for about 30 seconds when asked by a reporter if he would seek another six-year term in 2026.
At the time of the bill’s passage, Beshear contends argued it was unconstitutional. Last week, he was coy about how he’d handle a hypothetical vacancy from McConnell.
“There is no Senate vacancy,” Beshear told reporters during a press conference Thursday. “Senator McConnell has said he’s going to serve out his term, and I believe him, so I’m not going to speculate about something that hasn’t happened and isn’t going to happen.”
At the time the law — Senate Bill 228 — was passed, Beshear argued it ran afoul of the Constitution’s 17th Amendment, which bestows voters with the right to directly vote on their senators, who used to be appointed by the states.
“The bill therefore upends a century of precedent by delegating the power to select the representative of all Kentuckians to an unelected, unaccountable committee of an organization that represents only a fraction of Kentuckians,” Beshear said at the time of his veto.
SB 228 also laid out parameters for a special election to fill a Senate vacancy.
McConnell has three more years until his term expires, and the upper chamber currently has a wafer thin 51 to 49 Democrat majority, meaning a hypothetical departure could dramatically alter the balance of power in the Senate.
Notably, Democrats find themselves in a defensive crunch ahead of the 2024 cycle. They will have to defend 20 seats plus three held by Democratic-aligned independents. Republicans only have to safeguard 11.
After McConnell’s second public freezing incident last Wednesday, Capitol Attending Physician Dr. Brian Monahan, said the 81-year-old was “medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned.”
Back last week’s incident, in late July, McConnell froze for nearly 20 seconds mid-sentence, staring blankly at reporters stonefaced during a gaggle with the congressional press corps.
He has weathered through a handful of medical scares over recent months. On March 8, he fell at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Washington and suffered a concussion and broken ribs.
“Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration,” Monahan said in a statement released by McConnell’s office.
Last month, it was also revealed, that he also fell while deplaning a canceled flight at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in northern Virginia July 14.
McConnell is the longest serving Republican leader of the Senate, having helmed the caucus since 2007.
The Senate is currently on its August recess and is due to reconvene in Washington Sept. 5.
