Correction: A previous version of this story said House Bill 662 would change how Kentucky fills U.S. Senate vacancies. It is House Bill 622. The error has been corrected. (March 1, 2024)

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky lawmakers are moving forward on a bill to change how U.S. Senator vacancies are filled. The push to change state law comes as Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced his plans to step down as minority leader.

What You Need To Know

  • Under Kentucky law, if one of the Commonwealth’s U.S. senators leaves office before the end of their term, the governor would appoint their replacement

  • State Rep. Steven Rudy, R-Paducah, has filed a bill that would change how Kentucky fills U.S. Senate vacancies, it now heads to the House floor for a vote

  • Under House Bill 622, U.S. Senate vacancies would be filled by special election, just as is done for vacancies in the House

House Bill 622 was presented to lawmakers during committee for the first time Thursday after being filed last week by Majority Floor Leader State Sen. Steven Rudy, R-Paducah.

The bill would give voters the power to pick the next senator. Should a vacancy happen, a special election would be called to fill the rest of the unexpired term. This is the current process for U.S. Representative and state lawmaker vacancies.

Currently, the governor is charged with making this appointment. A 2021 law says that person must be of the same party as the outgoing senator — and must be picked from a list of three candidates selected by a committee made up of that party.

Rudy points to the 17th amendment for making this change. It reads in part that the state “shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.”

“I think it’s preferred. I think, God forbid, we have any vacancy in a U.S. Senator. I think that the people would want to decide who their senator was,” Rudy said.

State Rep. John Hodgson, R-Louisville, sits on the committee, and says he supports this bill. Hodgson was one of the 13 yes votes to advance this bill to the House floor.

“I think, in general, people like to make the choice. I mean, all the way down to the city council, you know, I think we passed legislation recently to not to allow appointment for city councilmen to do special elections. People want to choose a representative. So I’m fully supportive of it,” Hodgson said.  

The bill’s sponsor says his measure has nothing to do with McConnell’s health.

The last time there was a U.S. Senate vacancy was in 1974. Then-Governor Wendell Ford appointed himself as senator and served in that role until 1999.

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