Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell Announces Senate Retirement

The former Senate Majority Leader will not run for re-election in 2026.

In a highly expected decision, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, a Republican, announced he wouldn’t be running for re-election in 2026. He shared his decision on his 83rd birthday during a speech on the Senate floor earlier today.

McConnell becomes the third Senator to retire in the 2026 cycle and the first Republican to do so. The 2026 Senate cycle will see 35 contested races - 33 regular elections and 2 special elections. Republicans currently hold 22 of these seats while Democrats represent the remaining 13.

McConnell has served in the U.S. Senate since January 1985. He represented Kentucky for seven terms in this office. Moreover, he holds the record for longest tenure as a Senate party leader. He led the Senate Republican Conference from January 2007 to January 2025. That included six years as the chamber’s Majority Leader from January 2015 to January 2021.

McConnell’s political career began in 1968 when he worked as Chief Legislative Assistant to Senator Marlow Cook (R-KY) until 1970. In 1971, he was a staffer on Republican Tom Emberton’s unsuccessful campaign for Governor of Kentucky. Following a failed state legislative campaign, McConnell returned to Washington, D.C. working in the Department of Justice in 1974. For four months in 1975, he served as Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs. In 1977, McConnell won his first campaign as Judge-Executive of Jefferson County. He served in that role from December 1977 to December 1984.

In 1984, McConnell was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democratic incumbent Walter Dee Huddleston. McConnell prevailed 49.9-49.5 in what was the only Republican flip that cycle. That was ultimately the most competitive race in McConnell’s Senate career. He was re-elected to his seventh and now final term 57.8-38.2 in 2020 against Democrat Amy McGrath.

Prior to his stunt as Republican Conference Leader, McConnell chaired the Senate Rules Committee from January 1999 to June 2001 and was Senate Majority Whip from January 2003 to January 2007. After stepping down as leader ahead of the 2024 elections, McConnell once again took control of the Rules Committee last month.

In addition to the Rules Committee, McConnell serves on the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; and Appropriations for the 119th Congress. Furthermore, he chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense as well as the Agriculture Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research.

As McConnell’s retirement seemed likely, several candidates have already been preparing campaigns to succeed him in the Senate. In the hours after the news, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron formally launched his campaign. The Republican primary is expected to grow - with U.S. Representative Andy Barr and businessman Nate Morris already expressing their interest. On the Democratic side, State House Minority Leader Pamela Stevenson has entered the race. Despite national pressure, Governor Andy Beshear and Lieutenant Government Jacqueline Coleman have declined to seek the Democratic nomination.

Kentucky has supported the Republican nominee for President in every cycle since 2000. In 2024, Republican Donald Trump prevailed 64.5-33.9 against Democrat Kamala Harris in his successful national campaign. That was the best performance ever from a Republican presidential candidate in the state’s history.