Campaign Update: Who Replaces Mitch? And Who Leads the Democrats Now?
With his unsurprising announcement he will not seek re-election, long-time GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell creates an opening in a seat he has held since 1985. Now the question turns to who will step up to fill the void, a question that is far more complicated than many might imagine.
A bit of trivia here: His 40-year tenure makes McConnell the 2nd-longest serving Senator in U.S. history, surpassed only by Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, who is in his 44th year in the Senate and still going pretty strong for a guy who is a sprightly 91 years of age. Comparing Grassley to the utter incompetency of Old Joe Biden - 10 years younger - proves once again the old adage that age is just a number: It’s your health that really matters. That in turn proves once again that old adages persist for a reason: Because they’re true.
Anyway, back on topic. McConnell’s retirement opens up a GOP-held seat in the 2026 election cycle in which Republicans at this point seem well-positioned to not just hold their Senate majority but expand it despite having many more seats up for re-election than the demonic Dems. The knee-jerk consensus seems to be that this seat will almost certainly remain in Republican hands, but that’s not a given.
Kentucky is strong Red state in presidential politics, but it tends to have glitches further down the ballot.