How Mitch McConnell beat Democrats in Kentucky (again)
CNN
Mitch McConnell may not be in control of the Senate anymore, but he's still making moves -- and winning political fights -- that prove he remains a major power player in his home state of Kentucky.
To that end: On Monday in the Bluegrass State, the Republican-controlled state legislature voted into law a proposal that drastically limits the power of the state's governor to fill vacancies that might arise in the US Senate. Known as Senate Bill 228, the measure forces the governor to pick a successor of the same party as the departing senator -- and to choose that person from a list of three names, supplied by the executive committee of the party to which the departing senator belongs. That is a major change from past Kentucky law, which allowed the governor to pick any person of any party to fill a Senate vacancy. The legislation also would force a special election to be held unless the Senate vacancy occurs within three months of a previously scheduled election.
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