Mitch McConnell
Bio | Mitch McConnell is serving as Kentucky’s U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader. McConnell attended the University of Kentucky College of Law and served in the U.S. Army. |
Status and Position | Current US Senator of Kentucky |
Political Party and Jurisdiction | Republican, Kentucky |
Elections | Election Jurisdiction | Started Campaign | Campaign Status | Poll Rankings (of the vote) |
| 2020 Senate Election Kentucky 1 | Kentucky 1 | Yes | Running | 48.0% |
Campaign Financing | McConnell opposes many proposals for campaign finance reform. He has voted against legislation meant to reduce the presence of money in politics. He has also spoken against initiatives to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court case, which allowed for corporations to participate freely in elections as individuals. Accordingly, in his own campaigns, he accepts money from PACs and interest groups. |
Voting Rights | McConnell has emerged as a strong opponent to most electoral reform initiatives. He recently refused to allow the Senate to vote on the For the People Act, which would make election day a federal holiday and require states to provide automatic voter registration services, among other things. |
Opinions on Issues
Issues | Stance | Summary |
| Universal Healthcare | Against | McConnell strongly opposes major universal healthcare programs. McConnell is particularly opposed to proposals to implement Medicare-for-All. |
| Socialized Healthcare | Against | Opposes government run health insurance. |
| Private Healthcare | Unknown | Has made no clear stance on this issue. |
| LGBT Rights | Against | McConnell has voted against LGBT rights. Voted yes to same sex marriage ban, voted against sexual orientation be added to hate crime list, voted no to prohibiting discrimination by sexual orientation. |
| Taxes | Against | McConnell backs tax reduction. Voted for the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, Middle Class Tax Cut and voted on repealing death tax. |
| Flat Tax Rate | Unknown | Has made no clear stance on this issue. Voted for the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, Middle Class Tax Cut and voted on repealing death tax. |
| Abortion | Against | McConnell has pro-life stance. Has voted for the Born-Alive Abortions Survivors act and the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. |
| Gun Control | Against | Is anti-gun control. McConnell has voted against the Fix Guns Check Act and every act that prohibits the withhold of arms from suspected terrorists. |
| Assisted Suicide | Unknown | Has made no clear stance on this issue. McConnell has voted against the Fix Guns Check Act and every act that prohibits the withhold of arms from suspected terrorists. |
| Government Interference | Unknown | Has not made clear his stance on this issue. |
| Planned Parenthood | Against | McConnell has been supportive of efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. |
| Welfare | Against | McConnell has supported budget cuts for a number of welfare programs. McConnell has called for cuts to the Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security programs. He is also a consistent critic of the SNAP (food stamps) program. |
| Welfare | Against | McConnell was hypercritical of the Obama administration's decision to reverse the Bush administration's ban on fetal stem cell research. |
| Death Penalty | For | McConnell has said that he "embraces" the death penalty, and has generally voted in favor of legislation that upholds capital punishment. Aside from expressing support for the death penalty in his home-state of Kentucky, McConnell has supported legislation that would limit people's' ability to appeal death penalty convictions. |
| Mandatory Prison Sentence | Against | McConnell has a lengthy history of blocking Senate votes on criminal justice reform cases, including ones that would reduce mandatory minimum requirements. |
| Military Spending | For | McConnell is generally supportive of proposals to increase defense spending, and has been critical of Democratic proposals to increase social spending alongside defense spending. |
| War on Terrorism | For | In a 2010 statement, McConnell stated that he believed that the War on Terror was one of the United States' most 'urgent' and 'persistent' endeavors was the War on Terror. |
| Foreign Policy International Interaction | Nuance | While McConnell began his career as an anti-isolationist politician, he has since shifted to withdraw his support from many international initiatives. McConnell has a mixed history on foreign policy. While he has previously been supportive of institutions such as NATO and the IMF, he has also aligned himself as an ally of President Trump, who has tended to promote more isolationist foreign policy strategies. |
| United Nations power | Unknown | Has made no clear stance on this issue. |
| Nationalism | Against | McConnell has made several statements rebuking the presence of white nationalism within the Republican Party. |
| Free Markets | For | McConnell is an advocate for free trade. McConnell has voted to open up Vietnam, Peru, Oman, and China to trade opportunities in past. He also voted for bill to open trade to 70 "Third World Countries." |
| Brexit | Unknown | Has no clear statement on this issue. |
| Affirmative Action | Against | McConnell voted against awarding money based on race, color, or ethnicity. |
| Government Spending | Nuance | While McConnell does not generally support increased social spending, he has backed increasing defense budgets and militaristic spending. |
| Charter Schools | For | Has voted for the election of DeVos as Secretary of Education. Has also backed rallies for charter schools and voted for more flexibility in federal education. |
| Common Core | Unknown | Has made no clear stance on this issue N/A |
| Clean Energy | Against | Has a negative voting record for renewable energies Voted against tax incentives for renewable energies, voted against EPA regulations to greenhouse gasses. Has tried to untie the hands of oil, gas and nuclear energy companies. |
| Religious Freedom | For | Backs religious freedoms Has backed bills that would allow religiously affiliated organizations to exempt hiring if the person doesn't fit religious views. Voted against employment non-discrimination act of 2013. |
| Separation of Church and State | Unknown | Has made no clear statement on this issue. |
| Slavery Reparations | Against | Has voted against awarding money based on race, color, or ethnicity. |
| Border Control | For | McConnell backes strict immigration policies. Voted for the Secure and Succeed Act, requiring the border wall to be built without time limit and voted against Uniting and Securing America Act. |
| Passenger Profiling | Unknown | Has made no clear stance on this issue. |
| DACA | Against | Voted Against the DREAM Act. |
| Sanctuary Cities | Against | McConnell voted for the Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act. |
| Legalizing Marijuana | Against | Stated to heavily oppose its legalization and even industrial use, has been having discussions with stockholders and businesses about marijuana and financial benefits. |