Mitch McConnell announced on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Thursday that he will not seek an eighth term in office next year.
The influential Kentucky Republican stepped down from party leadership last year after serving in that role longer than anyone in Senate history. Many assumed he would not run for office again after serious health issues in recent years, but he made it official in his floor speech.
McConnell said he was humbled by the trust Kentuckians put in him to serve in the Senate and how that was “the honor of a lifetime,” but added he will not seek this honor an eighth time.
“My current term in the Senate will be my last,” he said.
Thursday is McConnell’s 83rd birthday. His current term lasts through the end of 2026.
McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984, when he narrowly upset an incumbent in heavily Democratic Kentucky. As McConnell rose in power in the Senate, he helped to steer billions of dollars of federal funding back home, all while orchestrating Republicans’ political takeover of Kentucky.
McConnell’s legacy is also closely intertwined with President Donald Trump. During Trump’s first term, McConnell ushered through the Senate hundreds of his lifetime appointees to federal judgeships and the U.S. Supreme Court, reshaping the courts in a conservative direction. McConnell also played a key role opposing Trump’s conviction in both of his Senate impeachment trials, making his return to the White House possible in 2025.
However, McConnell’s relationship with Trump remains frayed in public, which was alluded to in his floor speech.
Trump has routinely maligned McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao, in public, while McConnell has voted against several of Trump’s nominees in his second term and criticized his foreign policy on the Russia-Ukraine war and implementation of tariffs.
McConnell said former President Ronald Reagan, who was in office when he first joined the Senate, had strengthened American power, “but since then, we’ve allowed that power to atrophy.”
“And today, a dangerous world threatens to outpace the work of rebuilding it. So, lest any of our colleagues still doubt my intentions for the remainder of my term: I have some unfinished business to attend to.”
McConnell’s influence in shaping the federal judiciary is what he has long called the greatest accomplishment of his career, spanning from blocking nominations of President Barack Obama to steering through lifetime appointees in Trump’s term — especially on the Supreme Court.
With McConnell not running for reelection, there will now be a scramble for power among Kentucky Republicans over who will win the party’s nomination to replace him next year. Among the Republicans who have been speculated as possible candidates are Congressmen Andy Barr and Thomas Massie, former Attorney General Daniel Cameron and former United National ambassador Kelly Craft.
Before McConnell had even completed his floor speech, Cameron announced he was running for Senate, while Barr announced he is considering a run.
“As I’ve said before this announcement, I am considering running for Senate because Kentucky deserves a Senator who will fight for President Trump and the America First Agenda,” wrote Barr in a post on X. “I’ve done that every day in the House and would do so in the Senate. I’m encouraged by the outpouring of support and my family and I will be making a decision about our future soon.”
Also announcing a run during McConnell’s remarks was state Rep. Pamela Stevenson, the Democratic minority leader of the state House from Louisville. In a post on X, she said “It is time KY has new leadership in DC that is dedicated to serving them. I fully intend to seek the office & will make my formal announcement in a few weeks.”
One Democrat who says he won’t be running for the open Senate seat is Gov. Andy Beshear, who won a second term in office in 2023 despite Kentucky being a conservative state where Republicans typically dominate in federal and statewide elections. Beshear’s second term as governor ends in December of 2027.
Eric Hyers, the governor’s top political strategist, wrote in a statement that Beshear “wishes the Senator well on his health.” Hyers added that Beshear “loves his job serving the people of Kentucky, and he wouldn't trade a single day as governor for six years in the Senate. He is not running for Senate in 2026.”
Some Republicans with an interest in the Senate seat have not wished McConnell well.
Nate Morris, a businessman and significant GOP donor from Lexington, said in a post last week that he was considering running for the seat whether or not McConnell retired. He said Kentucky needed someone fighting more for Trump’s agenda, rather than “another puppet for Mitch McConnell.”
Donald Trump Jr. replied to Morris’ post, writing: "If you're running for office, especially in Kentucky, and you want my support, don't even bother reaching out to me unless you're willing to publicly oppose Mitch McConnell like this."
Kinder words came after McConnell’s retirement announcement from Robert Benvenuti, the chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky — the headquarters of which in Frankfort bear his name.
"The Republican Party of Kentucky offers its deepest gratitude to Sen. Mitch McConnell for his extraordinary and steadfast service to our state and nation,” Benvenuti said. “From his early days as county judge-executive, to becoming the longest-serving Senate party leader in history, he has faithfully served the people of Kentucky with integrity and dedication.”
Noting the resurgence and current dominance of the GOP in Kentucky during McConnell’s tenure in office, he added that Republicans “all owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for his unparalleled service, and we wish him continued success in the years ahead."
Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne also offered McConnell praise, saying the announcement “signals the conclusion of one of the most consequential careers in modern American history.”
This story will be updated.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
