The Kentucky legislature passed a bill that requires a governor to fill a vacant US Senate seat with a member of the deceased senator’s party, in an action that is sure to spark political rumors surrounding Frankfort.
The bill would require an incumbent governor to choose a replacement for a vacant Senate seat from a list of three candidates chosen by the leadership of the former senator’s political party.
Both houses of the Kentucky legislature are controlled by Republican super majorities. They probably have the votes to overturn a veto that Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, could issue.
The two Kentucky seats in the United States Senate are occupied by Republicans, both of whom have had health problems in recent years – but both say they will not be going anywhere anytime soon.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell Morning Report from The Hill – Presented by Facebook – Biden Faces Republican Party Immigration and Obstruction Offensive Tensions Rise Over Senate Obstruction Biden Says He Supports Returning to ‘Talking Obstruction’ MORE (R-Ky.), 79, suffered a fractured shoulder in a fall in 2019. He underwent triple revascularization surgery in 2003. In 2020, he was photographed with bruised and bandaged hands, which he declined to explain.
“I can only say that I’m fine. And I can’t believe you guys played with it all week, ”McConnell told The Washington Post in October.
Sen. Rand Paul
Randal (Rand) Howard PaulOvernight Health Care: Several Republican lawmakers are saying no to COVID-19 vaccines | European suspensions of AstraZeneca threaten global response of COVID-19 | Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, proposes to exit B bankruptcy Several Republican lawmakers are saying no to COVID-19 vaccines. (R-Ky.), 58, was attacked by a neighbor in 2017, an attack that left him with five broken ribs. Part of Paul’s lung was removed in 2019 as a result of the attack.
Both senators intend to stay here.
“This bill improves the way seats are currently filled and ensures that Kentucky will not be unrepresented in the U.S. Senate for a long period of time,” said McConnell in a statement. “It would also ensure that Kentucky voters have the ability to choose who they think will best represent them in a timely manner, rather than leaving that decision to the governor, regardless of the party.”
Stephanie Penn, a spokesman for McConnell, said the minority leader would not leave.
“Dr. Paul intends to fulfill the remainder of this mandate and the next one as well, ”said Kelsey Cooper, a spokesman for Paul.
In comments to the Associated Press last week, Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers (R) acknowledged that the bill had fueled speculation about McConnell’s health. Stivers said he raised the possibility with McConnell.
“Let me make a final statement: he is not sick, he is not leaving – perhaps to the chagrin of some people – but he plans to be there,” Stivers told the AP.
Paul’s seat will be elected in 2022. McConnell was re-elected for a seventh term in 2020, with 58% of the vote.
Kentucky would be the seventh state to require a governor to choose a member of the former senator’s political party after Arizona, Hawaii, Maryland, North Carolina, Utah and Wyoming.