Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr. (born February 20, 1942) is the senior United States Senator from Kentucky. A member of the Republican Party, he is the Minority Leader of the Senate, succeeding Chuck Schumer. He is the longest-serving U.S. Senator in Kentucky history.[2] McConnell holds conservative positions, despite regarding as a moderate Republican early in his career.
Mitch McConnell | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2016 | |
| Senate Minority Leader | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2021 | |
| Deputy | John Thune |
| Preceded by | Chuck Schumer |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2015 | |
| Deputy |
|
| Preceded by | Harry Reid |
| Succeeded by | Harry Reid |
| Senate Majority Leader | |
| In office January 3, 2015 – January 20, 2021 | |
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Harry Reid |
| Succeeded by | Chuck Schumer |
| United States Senator from Kentucky | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1985 Serving with Rand Paul | |
| Preceded by | Walter Huddleston |
| Leader of the Senate Republican Conference | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2007 | |
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Bill Frist |
| Senate Majority Whip | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007 | |
| Leader | Bill Frist |
| Preceded by | Harry Reid |
| Succeeded by | Dick Durbin |
| Chair of the Senate Rules Committee | |
| In office January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Chris Dodd |
| Succeeded by | Chris Dodd |
| In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | John Warner |
| Succeeded by | Chris Dodd |
| Judge/Executive of Jefferson County | |
| In office 1977–1984 | |
| Preceded by | Todd Hollenbach III |
| Succeeded by | Bremer Ehrler |
| Acting United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs | |
| In office 1975 | |
| President | Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Vincent Rakestraw |
| Succeeded by | Michael Uhlmann |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. February 20, 1942 Sheffield, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Net worth | $22.5 million (estimate)[1] |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Senate website |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | July 9, 1967, to August 15, 1967 (37 days) (medical separation) |
| Unit | United States Army Reserve |
Early life
Mitch McConnell was born to Julia (née Shockley) and Addison Mitchell McConnell at Helen Keller Memorial Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama on February 20, 1942.[3][4] [5]He grew up in segregated Athens, Alabama.[6] They moved to southern Louisville, Kentucky and McConnell attended the duPont Manual High School. In 1964, he graduated with honors from the University of Louisville with a B.A. in political science. He graduated in 1967 from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
Career
In 1984, McConnell ran for the United States Senate against two-term Democratic incumbent Walter "Dee" Huddleston. The election race wasn't decided until the last polls returned came in, and McConnell won by a thin margin—only 5,200 votes out of more than 1.8 million votes cast, just over 0.4%.[7]
McConnell was the only Republican Senate challenger to win that year, despite Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in the presidential election. Part of McConnell's success came from a series of television campaign spots called "Where's Dee", which featured a group of bloodhounds trying to find Huddleston,[8][9] implying that Huddleston's attendance record in the Senate was less than stellar. It is likely that he was helped by Ronald Reagan's 21-point win in Kentucky that year. His campaign bumper stickers and television ads asked voters to "Switch to Mitch".
McConnell has repeatedly been found to have the lowest home state approval rating of any sitting senator.[10][11]
Personal life
McConnell is a member of the Baptist Church. His first wife was Sherrill Redmon,[12] from whom he was later divorced; they have three daughters. His second wife, whom he married in 1993, is Elaine Chao, the Secretary of Transportation under Donald Trump and the former Secretary of Labor under George W. Bush (the first Asian American woman to serve in the Cabinet).
Senator McConnell's personal fortune was between $9,839,049 to $44,587,000 in 2010 and he was ranked as the 10th wealthiest member of the U.S. Senate.[13]
In October 2024, the first autobiographical book, "The Price of Power: How Mitch McConnell Mastered the Senate, Changed America, and Lost His Party", about Mitch McConnell, will be released in the United States.[14]
Mitch McConnell Media
McConnell in duPont Manual High School's 1960 yearbook
President Ronald Reagan in a meeting with McConnell in the Oval Office, March 1987
President George H. W. Bush with McConnell and Elaine Chao in February 1991
Senator Mitch McConnell, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front, speaking at microphone at a gathering of Republican Party women candidates
President George W. Bush shakes hands with McConnell at Bush's first inauguration, January 2001.
Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Paul Ryan, and McConnell celebrate the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, December 2017.
McConnell (left) with then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh (middle), the nominee to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, and vice president Mike Pence, 2018
Senator Mitch McConnell in Kentucky on October 30, 2024.
McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao, January 2019
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References
- ↑ Kessler, Glenn (May 22, 2014). How did Mitch McConnell's Net Worth Soar?. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2014/05/22/how-did-mitch-mcconnells-net-worth-soar/. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- ↑ "McConnell becomes longest-serving senator from Kentucky". Larue County (Kentucky) Herald Tribune. January 14, 2009. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ↑ "Mitch McConnell at Political Base". Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
- ↑ "Sen. Mitch McConnell once called Athens home". Enewscourier.com. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
- ↑ Thompson, Fred (2010-05-18). Teaching the Pig to Dance: A Memoir of Growing Up and Second Chances. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-46030-1.
- ↑ Mazza, Sandy. "In McConnell's boyhood town where his family owned slaves, the reparations debate thrives". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
- ↑ Mark R. Chellgren (November 7, 1984). Dee upset by McConnell in close race. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XLRDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2q4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1340,2543281&dq=dee+huddleston&hl=en. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- ↑ "McConnell Attacks Huddleston - Part 1 video". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2013-02-24.
- ↑ "McConnell Attacks Huddleston - Part 2 video". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2013-02-24.
- ↑ Ostermeier, Dr. Eric (November 29, 2015). "Which States Give Their US Senators the Lowest Marks?". Smart Politics. Archived from the original on November 18, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- ↑ Cirilli, Kevin (December 12, 2012). "Poll: The most unpopular senator". POLITICO (Politico LLC). http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/poll-the-most-unpopular-senator-084927. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ↑ John E. Kleber, Kentucky Bicentennial Commission, Thomas Dionsius Clark, and Lowell H. Harrison, "The Kentucky Encyclopedia", University Press of Kentucky, 1992, page 592, accessdate 2010-07-30
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org (2010-12-03). "Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 2010". OpenSecrets.org. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ↑ Michael Tackett (2024-10-28). "The Price of Power: How Mitch McConnell Mastered the Senate, Changed America, and Lost His Party". bookshop.org. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
Other websites
- Senator Mitch McConnell official U.S. Senate site
- Mitch McConnell For U.S. Senate official campaign site