Kentucky legislature approves bill sidelining Democratic governor in Senate vacancy selection
The Kentucky Senate passed a bill to limit Gov. Andy Beshear’s authority in appointing replacements for vacant U.S. Senate seats, opting for special elections instead. This move follows concerns over Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s health issues and his impending resignation as Republican leader. Republican Steven Rudy led the legislation to curtail the governor’s power in this process. The Kentucky Senate approved a bill to restrict Governor Andy Beshear from selecting replacements for empty U.S. Senate seats, favoring special elections. This decision arose amid worries about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s health problems and upcoming resignation as the Republican leader. The bill, championed by Republican Steven Rudy, aims to limit the governor’s influence in this matter.
The Kentucky Senate sent a bill to Gov. Andy Beshear‘s (D-KY) desk that would cut him out of the process of filling a vacancy in either of the commonwealth’s U.S. Senate seats.
The upper chamber of the state legislature passed House Bill 622, which would remove the authority for the governor to appoint a replacement for a vacant U.S. Senate seat and instead keep the seat open until a special election can be held. The state Senate passed the law, 34-3, on Thursday after it passed the state House, 88-4, earlier this month.
The bill comes as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has had several health scares in recent years, and the governor’s mansion in Kentucky is set to be occupied by Beshear, a Democrat, until December 2027. McConnell announced earlier this year he would step down as Republican leader in the Senate later this year, but he has said he will finish out his Senate term, which expires in January 2027.
State House Republican Steven Rudy, who spearheaded the legislation, has claimed the bill is aimed at preventing a situation like in Illinois when former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted of attempting to sell an appointment to fill former Democratic Sen. Barack Obama’s seat. Rudy has denied that the bill is designed with McConnell in mind.
A 2021 bill, which Beshear vetoed but was put into law after GOP supermajorities in both chambers overrode his veto, requires the governor to choose from a list of three names offered by the political party of the senator who previously held the seat. Beshear has previously refused to commit to following this law regarding appointments.
Kentucky Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams, commenting on the bill, said it was because Beshear “refused to commit to following the law.”
“Should a U.S. Senate seat from Kentucky ever be vacated – God forbid – our state will go unrepresented until we can conduct a special election, simply because Governor Beshear – as he has so often – refused to commit to following the law,” he posted on X.
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The bill goes to Beshear’s desk for his approval or veto. Republicans in the state have supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature, meaning a veto could likely be overridden, and the bill could still become law.
Beshear has previously called the bill “rank partisanship” and argued that people want “good government that focuses on our people.”
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