One potential contender for the seat being vacated by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) may not have considered the possibility until recently. Privately, allies are urging Scott Jennings, the outspoken and conservative CNN personality, to keep his options open for 2026, when Republicans will vie to replace the former U.S. Senate majority leader. McConnell announced last week that he would not seek reelection, bringing an end to nearly five decades in elected office and his record as the longest-serving leader of a party’s Senate caucus in U.S. history.
According to sources close to Jennings, he has not ruled out the possibility of running for Senate, and his media supporters are expressing excitement about the potential of seeing him run and, likely, win the seat. “Could I nominate [Scott Jennings] for the United States Senate from the Commonwealth of Kentucky? He’d be a hell of a McConnell replacement,” conservative writer Erick Erickson wrote on X. “I would absolutely support my friend [Scott Jennings] for U.S. Senate. But he’d also make a fine governor for the great state of Kentucky as well,” Republican strategist Dustin Grage posted.
In a statement announcing his retirement, Sen. McConnell, who was first elected in 1985, reflected on his legacy, which includes securing the appointments of six of the nine Supreme Court justices and a majority of Republican appointees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals. “Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell wrote. “Every day in between, I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business here. Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last,” he added, according to the New York Post.
Deep-red Kentucky offers some of the most favorable territory Republicans could hope for in their fight to retain a seat, and the competitive electoral landscape has already sparked interest. Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has entered the race, while GOP Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) is reportedly considering a bid.
The Cook Political Report considers 2026 a challenging cycle for Democrats, predicting that the GOP will either maintain or expand its 53-seat majority. The opposition party is losing Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) to retirement, while freshman Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) is rated as the most vulnerable incumbent of the cycle. On the Republican side, endangered incumbents like Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have shown a strong ability to secure multiple terms, even when facing well-funded challengers.