Senator Mitch McConnell waves to the crowd during the 143rd Fancy Farm Picnic on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)
Kentucky’s longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell will announce Thursday that he does not plan to seek reelection in 2026, according to media reports.
McConnell, who turns 83 on Thursday, is expected to make the announcement in a noontime floor speech, Politico reports.
McConnell was the longest serving Senate leader in U.S. history after stepping down from his leadership role last November, leading the GOP caucus for nearly two decades. According to the Associated Press, which initially reported the senator’s decision, McConnell said in prepared remarks that he has been “humbled by the trust” of Kentuckians in electing him to the Senate for seven terms.
His announcement further fuels speculation about who will run for Kentucky’s now open Senate seat in 2025.
“Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime,” McConnell said. “I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”
In recent years, his legacy has become shaping the federal judiciary by allowing Senate floor votes for three key Supreme Court appointments from President Donald Trump while blocking nominations from Democratic presidents. Overall, McConnell led the Senate confirmation of 234 lifetime appointments to the federal bench.
Concerns for the senator’s health have risen within the last year after falls and freezing mid-speech. Earlier this month, McConnell fell in the U.S. Senate but was reported to be “fine.”
Throughout his political career, McConnell has had a strong influence on both American and Kentucky politics. He was first elected to the Senate in 1984 at a time when Kentucky Republicans were a small minority in contrast to the long-dominant state Democratic Party. When Kentucky’s five Republican constitutional officers were sworn in at the state Capitol in January 2024, McConnell told the crowd he was “thrilled to have an opportunity to be here today in this most improbable thing, which is a crowd in Frankfort that is not at least 100% Democratic.”
McConnell’s rise to the Senate came after he was Jefferson County judge-executive in Louisville. Since then, he’s repeatedly supported Republican candidates in Kentucky, leading to their rise across decades. In the 2024 election cycle, McConnell’s PAC gave 95 Republican candidates $2,100 each, the maximum allowed under state law.
Last September when the Republican Party of Kentucky dedicated an expansion of their state headquarters in Frankfort, top GOP leaders in the state heralded “the house that Mitch built.” The building is also named after McConnell.
“We’ve come a long way, and the people here today had a lot to do with it,” McConnell said at the time. “Thanks for all the praise for me, but it’s a team sport, and many of you have contributed a lot of years and a lot of dollars over the years to bring us where we are today.”
Robert Benvenuti, the chairman of the state party, said in a statement that Kentucky Republicans offered the “deepest gratitude to Sen. Mitch McConnell for his extraordinary and steadfast service to our state and nation.”
“Without his vision and tireless efforts, we would not be the majority party in Kentucky, with strong voter registration, supermajorities in our legislature, and seven of Kentucky’s eight seats in Washington,” Benvenuti said. “His principled, conservative leadership has shaped policies that have strengthened both our state and our country.”
Who is running and who could run?
McConnell’s term ends in 2027. With his announcement to not seek reelection, the stage is set for a swath of Republican and Democratic candidates to announce their bids for Kentucky’s Senate seat. Candidates cannot officially file for the election until Nov. 5.
Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican, quickly announced his plans to run for the seat after McConnell concluded his remarks. During his unsuccessful 2023 gubernatorial bid, Cameron was often heralded as a McConnell protegé.
“Kentucky, it’s time for a new generation of leadership in the U.S. Senate,” Cameron said on X. “Let’s do this.”
Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr, of Lexington, recently told Fox News he was mulling a run for the seat regardless of McConnell’s decision.
After the news Thursday, Barr said on X he was still considering running “because Kentucky deserves a Senator who will fight for President Trump and the America First Agenda.”
“I’ve done that every day in the House and would do so in the Senate,” Barr said. “I’m encouraged by the outpouring of support and my family and I will be making a decision about our future soon.”
Barr’s initial comments on running for the seat came after Lexington-based businessman and GOP political donor Nate Morris took to X to criticize McConnell for not confirming some of Republican President Donald Trump’s recent nominations in the Senate. Morris said in the video he was considering running for the Senate seat or governor.
The state’s top Democrat, Gov. Andy Beshear, “will not be running for Senate in 2026,” said his political strategist, Eric Hyers, in an email to the Kentucky Lantern.
House Democratic Floor Leader Rep. Pamela Stevenson, of Louisville, recently filed her paperwork to raise money for a Senate campaign. In 2023, she was the Democratic nominee for attorney general but lost to Republican Russell Coleman.
This story was originally published by the Kentucky Lantern which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network, including the Daily Montanan, supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.