How Mitch McConnell’s Replacement Would Be Chosen

As concerns grow about the health of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky state laws have already guaranteed his potential replacement will be a Republican.

The senator, 81, is facing calls to resign after he froze midsentence and appeared to trail off for several seconds during a press conference at the Capitol on Wednesday.

Questions regarding the health of McConnell, as well as other elected officials such as California Senator Dianne Feinstein, have been raised for months. McConnell suffered concussion following a fall at a D.C. hotel in March. NBC News reported that the Senate Minority Leader also fell while getting off a plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport earlier in July in Arlington, Virginia.

The Kentucky senator was led away by his fellow Republicans present at the conference on Wednesday before returning several minutes later and saying he was fine. Newsweek has contacted McConnell’s office by email for comment.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell arrives to a news conference after a lunch meeting with Senate Republicans U.S. Capitol 26, 2023 in Washington, D.C. The Kentucky senator froze and stopped talking at the microphone and was escorted back to his office. He later returned to the news conference and answered questions. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

While the political future of McConnell, whose term ends in 2027, is uncertain, the Kentucky legislator helped pass a law that ensures whoever replaces him, should he leave office early, will remain a Republican.

In 2021, the Republican-run Kentucky legislature voted to introduce a law that changes how the state would fill a vacant Senate seat in the case of death, illness, or any other reason for early departure. Previously, Kentucky’s governor was able to choose who would fill the position from any political party. In this case, the decision would have been made by Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear.

However, following the passing of Senate Bill 228, the Kentucky governor would now have to pick a successor from the same party as the departed senator. This would be from a list of three names provided by the executive committee of the departing senator’s state party.

A special election would then be held to determine who takes over the seat on a permanent basis, unless the vacancy occurs within three months of an already scheduled election.

McConnell, who was first elected to the Senate in 1984, was one of those who supported the passing of the bill. The push from the senator prompted speculation that the then-79-year-old was considering leaving office early and would ensure that his successor was also a Republican—a claim that he dismissed at the time.

“I’m not going anywhere. I just got elected to a six-year term, and I’m still the leader of my party in the Senate,” McConnell said. “So, this is a hypothetical. But I had watched this over the years in the Senate, as various vacancies were filled, and I thought this was the best way to go.”

The law change would essentially prevent Beshear from installing a Democratic senator in Kentucky in the event of a premature vacancy. The Bluegrass State has not had a Democratic senator since January 1999, following the retirement of Wendell Ford.

McConnell said he would have still supported the change in law, even if Beshear’s predecessor, former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, was still in office.

Following his episode on Wednesday, a number of Republican figures called for McConnell to leave office, which would prompt his replacement being found under Senate Bill 228.

Conservative podcast host Benny Johnson tweeted: “After suffering a stroke on camera Mitch McConnell tries to laugh it off with a joke hastily written by his staff then proceeds to immediately freeze up again and stare off into the middle distance. McConnell is unwell. He is a cancer on the GOP. Resign.”

McConnell, the longest-serving leader in Senate history, laughed off a question from a reporter who asked who should replace him after the 81-year-old returned to the press conference at the Capitol on Wednesday.