Mitch McConnell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mitch McConnell
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Official portrait, 2016
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| Senate Minority Leader | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2021 |
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| Deputy | John Thune |
| Preceded by | Chuck Schumer |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2015 |
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| Deputy |
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| Preceded by | Harry Reid |
| Succeeded by | Harry Reid |
| Senate Majority Leader | |
| In office January 3, 2015 – January 20, 2021 |
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| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Harry Reid |
| Succeeded by | Chuck Schumer |
| United States Senator from Kentucky |
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| Assumed office January 3, 1985 Serving with Rand Paul |
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| Preceded by | Walter Huddleston |
| Leader of the Senate Republican Conference | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2007 |
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| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Bill Frist |
| Senate Majority Whip | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007 |
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| 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 |
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| Preceded by | Chris Dodd |
| Succeeded by | Chris Dodd |
| In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | John Warner |
| Succeeded by | Chris Dodd |
| Judge/Executive of Jefferson County | |
| In office 1977–1984 |
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| Preceded by | Todd Hollenbach III |
| Succeeded by | Bremer Ehrler |
| Acting United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs | |
| In office 1975 |
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| 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) |
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| Children | 3 |
| Residence | Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Net worth | $22.5 million (estimate) |
| Signature |  |
| 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 |
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.
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Early life
Mitch McConnell was born to Julia (née Shockley) and Addison Mitchell McConnell at Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama on February 20, 1942. He grew up in segregated Athens, Alabama; his family owned slaves and cotton plantations in the area generations before him. 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%.
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, 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.
Personal life
McConnell is a member of the Baptist Church. His first wife was Sherrill Redmon, from whom he was later divorced; they have three daughters. His second wife, whom he married in 1993, is Elaine Chao, the current 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.
Images for kids
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President Ronald Reagan in a meeting with McConnell in the Oval Office, March 1987
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Mitch McConnell in 1992
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McConnell with John Roberts in 2005
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Congressional leaders in January 2020
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President Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Paul Ryan, and McConnell celebrate the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, December 2017
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