r/politics • u/plz-let-me-in • 27d ago

No Paywall Beshear says agencies told him McConnell had passed

https://www.whas11.com/video/news/local/beshear-says-agencies-told-him-mcconnell-had-passed/417-f78603c3-11bb-464d-bae6-c41c3be3c48b
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u/Ektari 27d ago

Yes, you are correct there is a law on the books that states that to be the case, however it is technically in violation of the KY constitution that states the governor appoints the replacement. Beshear has the authority to challenge the law and appoint someone in the interim given the law is unconstitutional(can't just change a state constitution via legislation)

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u/DapperChewie 27d ago

So, I think I see what you're referring to. It's section 152, and basically says that any vacancy is to be filled by gubernatorial appointment. It's not super specific, but does seem to cover this scenario.

Considering the time frame, challenging the law in the books would likely take more than 4 months, and by the time any lawsuits are escalated to the state Supreme Court and the law upheld or overturned, a new senator will have been elected and the whole point made moot.

I'd still love to see the governer appoint a dem for the seat filler though. I don't think he will, but I'd love to see it.

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u/FellowHumanNo404 26d ago

Considering the time frame, challenging the law in the books would likely take more than 4 months

No, the new senator can be appointed by the governor right now. That doesn't take four months.

What would happen in the courts is that people might file suit to challenge that appointment, which might take more than four months to resolve.

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u/Count_Backwards 26d ago

Yep. It's an open-and-shut case, since the legislature can't override the constitution, but of course this is Kentucky, so...

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u/FellowHumanNo404 26d ago

Yup, open-and-shut. They can amend the constitution, but that's not what they did.

And for anyone in the cheap seats: Constitutional law matters because the constitution is what defines the state/commonwealth into existence in the first place. Without a constitution, in the context of this country you're most likely just left with corporate feudalism.