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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 | |
| Preceded by | Walter Huddleston |
| Leader of the Senate Republican Conference | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2007 | |
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Bill Frist |
| Succeeded by | John Thune (elect) |
| 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 |
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.
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]
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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]
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