A critical deadline is approaching in Kentucky as questions surrounding Senator Mitch McConnell continue to grow amid his prolonged absence from Congress.
McConnell, an 84-year-old Kentucky Republican, has not been seen publicly for weeks after suffering a fall at his Washington, D.C., home that left him briefly unconscious. His absence has sparked questions about transparency around his health as well as representation for Kentucky, given Republicans’ narrow majority in the Senate.
McConnell’s office says that he continues to work remotely with his staff. His team has released photographs of him at a hospital but has done little to quell questions about his health and whereabouts.
Politics
His absence also carries political implications. McConnell leaving his role would leave open a seat in the solidly Republican state at a time when Senate Republicans need every vote they can get to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda. The Republican is already set to retire at the end of his term in office after a 40-year stint as senator.
How that new senator would be selected remains a contested question.
In most states, a governor is able to appoint a new senator when there is a vacancy—but in Kentucky, it’s a more complicated question. State lawmakers in 2024 passed a law that prohibits the governor from appointing an interim senator, instead requiring him to call a special election to fill the seat.
Although Kentucky votes reliably Republican at the federal level, its voters have backed Democratic Governor Andy Beshear twice to lead the state. The law essentially bars him from appointing a Democratic senator, and analysts believe a special election would favor Republicans; Trump carried Kentucky by more than 30 points in the 2024 election, so a special Senate election would be an uphill battle for Democrats.
However, McConnell has not indicated that he plans to leave the Senate prior to the end of his term in December. He has already said he is retiring, with Republican Representative Andy Barr and Democrat Charles Booker running to replace him.
Forecasters like the Cook Political Report consider the race to be safe for Republicans in November.
Could a Kentucky Special Election Hinge on August 3?
The August 3 deadline, which falls on Monday, is viewed by some as an important date as to whether Beshear can call a special election to allow Kentucky voters to elect a new senator, though many of the questions about Kentucky’s vacancy laws remain untested in the courts. There are several competing legal provisions, so it’s unclear exactly how this would play out.
Section 152 of Kentucky’s Constitution states that if there are more than three months between a vacancy and election, a special election would need to be called to fill that seat. But if the vacancy opened up less than three months until the election, a special election would be delayed.
The midterm elections are set for November 3, so Monday would mark three months earlier.
The statute states that this applies to “all elective offices,” though legal questions have arisen about whether it would apply to the Senate after Kentucky lawmakers passed HB 622 in 2024.
HB 622 eliminated interim governor appointments for Senate vacancies altogether, instead requiring special elections when vacancies arise. Whoever wins that special election would serve the remainder of McConnell’s term if he were to leave office.
It does not, however, set a firm deadline. In this case, when McConnell’s seat is already up, the timeline may be even more complicated for Republicans.
Under the bill, Beshear would have to send a copy of his proclamation or writ of election to the sheriff of each county at least 56 days before the election, and each sheriff must give notice at least 49 days before the day of the election, according to the bill’s text. This makes September 8 another key date in the legal debate over how a vacancy would be filled.
Kentucky’s new law on Senate vacancies is legally untested, and any efforts to fill one could become a major legal test in the state.
Regardless of whether Monday is a firm deadline, policy consultant Adam Cochran wrote in a post to X that McConnell and his aides could play a “procedural time game,” given the uncertainty.
“So is August 3rd as clear cut a date as it was historically? No. Is it still legally relevant? Absolutely yes,” he wrote.
The U.S. Constitution’s 17th Amendment also states that when vacancies occur in the Senate, a state’s executive authority “shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies” provided that the state legislature “may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.”
Kentucky is among four states where a governor is not allowed to make an appointment, along with North Dakota, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
Andy Beshear Addresses August 3 Deadline
Beshear addressed the August 3 deadline in an interview with Bloomberg.
“There’s an argument out there that that’s a date where I could not later call a special election,” he said. “A lot of those that are pushing this are online and I think are under the impression that a Democrat in Kentucky might be able to win that election.”
He noted that Kentucky has not elected a Democratic senator for decades.
“I want to point out some other missed votes that might not be a bad thing,” he said. “[McConnell] hasn’t been there to vote on the SAVE Act, which would tear voting rights away. He hasn’t been there to vote to support this war on Iran that this president started and shouldn’t be continuing. He’s not there to vote for a potential replacement of a Supreme Court justice to continue a court that would tear down the Voting Right’s Act.”
He continued: “When you look at some of this, a vacancy, not having Mitch McConnell show up isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Because he certainly doesn’t show up to help the American people.”
Newsweek reached out to Beshear’s office for comment via email.
Mitch McConnell Health: The Latest
McConnell released a new health update and photograph on Monday. He said his recovery in a rehab facility following the June fall remains ongoing and that he has not been cleared to return to his Senate office.
The Office of the Attending Physician (OAP) wrote in the statement that physicians visit with McConnell every day to discuss “all aspects of his rehabilitation care.”
“Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls. His bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility. He is not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office,” the statement reads.
McConnell has not voted on the Senate floor since being hospitalized in June, though he continues to cosponsor legislation remotely, including a resolution honoring the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
Beshear on Monday also issued a statement to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, about McConnell’s absence.
“If Senator McConnell is unwilling to voluntarily show that he still has the capacity to serve, I will insist that you as the Majority Leader of the Senate fully investigate his condition, report to the American people, and begin the process (of expelling him) if warranted,” he wrote.
Criticism has also come from some of McConnell’s allies. Scott Jennings, a longtime adviser and supporter of the former Senate Republican leader, said recently that more transparency earlier in McConnell’s absence could have prevented speculation about his condition.
“Truthfully, I think a little transparency on the front end here would have saved him a whole lot of grief,” Jennings told CNN.
Calls for greater transparency have also come from Democrats. New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said McConnell should step down if he cannot provide further information about his condition.
“If he can’t give us an update, he should resign,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. “It’s been very clear to people across Kentucky that his ‘update’ was not sufficient…We need to know if you’re capable of doing the job for the foreseeable future.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Sam Wilson.
