Sen. Mitch McConnell, a longtime Republican U.S. Sen., from Kentucky, said Thursday he would not seek re-election in 2026.
McConnell made the announcement on his 83rd birthday in a speech on the Senate floor.
McConnell was the longest Senate leader in US history after resigning. His leadership role Last November, he led the GOP Caucus for nearly 20 years.
McConnell said he was “humbled by the trust” of the Kentuckians who were elected seven times to the Senate. “It has been an honor for the rest of my life to represent our Federation. I will not seek this honor for the eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”
McConnell was expected to retire at the end of this semester, but his announcement ended the competition to take over him in earnest, bringing further speculation about who will compete for the Kentucky Open Senate seat in 2026 It has been promoted.
Republican Daniel Cameron, former Kentucky Attorney General, first stepped out of the gate and announced his candidacy on social media as soon as McConnell’s speech was over. Republican Rep. Andy Barr posted that he is still considering whether he will enter the 2026 Senate primary.
Last year’s decision
McConnell’s legacy includes the formation of federal justice by adjusting the Senate floor votes Three major Supreme Court appointments President Donald Trump blocks the nomination from the Democratic president. Overall, McConnell led the Senate confirmation 234 Lifetime Appointment To the federal bench.
Concerns about the senator’s health rose within last year Waterfall, concussion and frozen audio. Earlier this month, McConnell collapsed to the US Senate, but was reported to be “good.”
McConnell, a polio survivor, said he decided last year not to seek re-election. “I never lost sight of the fact that without my mother’s dedicated care, my childhood encounter with polio could have been worse,” he told a colleague.
“We’ve finished saying that the Senate will set out with great hope for its institutional endurance. There are several reasons for pessimism, but the strength of the Senate is not one of them,” McConnell said. …The Senate is still stopped for jobs that have great results, and I am still in the job because of the disappointment of my critics.”
McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 when Kentucky Republicans were a minority in a state long controlled by Democrats. When five Republican constitutional officers from Kentucky are sworn in At the State Capitol in January 2024McConnell told the crowd, “I’m excited to have the opportunity to be here today with this most unlikely event.
McConnell’s rise to the Senate came after he served as Jefferson County Judge in Louisville. Since then, he has repeatedly supported Kentucky’s Republican candidates, leading to their rise over decades. During the 2024 election cycle, McConnell’s PAC They gave 95 Republican candidates $2,100 each. This is permitted by state law.
Last September, when the Kentucky Republicans dedicated their expansion of Frankfort’s state headquarters, the state’s top GOP leader was told “The house built by Mitch.” The building was also named after McConnell.
“We’ve come a long way, and people today had a lot to do with it,” McConnell said at the time. “Thank you for praiseing me, but it’s a team sport and many of you have contributed a lot of dollars over the years to bring us where we are today. ”
Party party chair Robert Benventi said in a statement Thursday that Kentucky Republicans “offered a deep thanks to Sen. Mitch McConnell for his extraordinary service to our state and nation.” .
“Without his vision and tireless efforts, we’re not a Kentucky majority party, but a strong voter registration, a Congressional supermajority and seven out of eight Kentucky seats in Washington.” Benventi said. “His principled, conservative leadership has shaped policies that strengthened both our state and our country.”
Who is running and who can run?
McConnell’s term ends in 2027. With his announcement that he will not seek reelection, the setting is set for Republican and Democratic candidates to announce their bids for Kentucky Senate seats. Candidates will not be able to officially submit their elections until November 5th.
Cameron announced plans to run for a seat soon after McConnell finished his remarks. When he failed the governor’s bid in 2023, Cameron was often announced as a McConnell Protégé. Cameron was approved by President Donald Trump as Governor’s GOP Primary.
“Kentucky has come to a new generation of leadership in the US Senate” Cameron I said in x. “Let’s do this.”
bar Lexington recently told Fox News that he was pondering the seating run regardless of McConnell’s decision.
After Thursday’s news, The bar said with x He was still thinking of running “as Kentucky deserves to be a senator fighting for President Trump and America’s first agenda.”
“I’ve done it in the House of Representatives every day and I’ll do it in the Senate,” Burr said. “I am encouraged by the support and the pours of my family. I will soon make a decision about our future.”
The bar’s first comment on the seating trip came after Lexington-based businessman and GOP political donors Nate Morris took him to x Criticizes McConnell for failing to confirm some of Trump’s recent nominations in the Senate. Morris said in the video that he is considering running for Senate seat or governor.
Former Kentucky Senator floor leader Damon Sayer told the Kentucky Lantern that he hasn’t pursued a run in the open seat as the fields lined up towards the Republican seats. Ta. All of the strengths between Morris, Barr and Cameron, Thayer said he is likely to support one of them in the future, but is not prepared to do so on Thursday.
“Everyone who will replace Senator McConnell will have big shoes to fill,” Sayer said.
He pointed to McConnell’s entire career and its impact on Kentucky. Kentucky said it would include securing federal funding for infrastructure projects, lowering taxes and paving the way for judicial appointments. Whether the next senator will make it a priority to allow Kentucky to still “beyond that weight” is a fair question to lay out during the campaign, Sayer said.
Gov. Andy Besher, the state’s top Democrat, said “I will not run for the Senate in 2026,” his political strategist Eric Highers in an email to the Kentucky Lantern. Bessia, who is sometimes referred to as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, has repeatedly said she would like to finish her second term of governor, ending in 2027. The governor of Kentucky is limited to two terms.
Jacqueline Coleman, spokesman for Lieutenant Colonel Jacqueline, another Democrat; I said in x She “has no interest” in running.
House democratic floor leader Rep. Pamela StevensonI recently filed paperwork to raise funds for Louisville’s Senate campaign. In 2023, she was a Democratic candidate for Attorney General, but was defeated by Republican Russell Coleman.
Stevenson said in X On Thursday, she plans to run for a seat and “we will make my official announcement in a few weeks.”
“It’s when KY has new leadership at DC.
This story has been updated with additional comments.
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