CNN pundit Scott Jennings encouraged to run for McConnell’s open Senate seat

FIRST ON FOX: Conservative CNN pundit Scott Jennings is being privately and publicly encouraged to run for Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell’s open Senate seat in 2026, sources, including a Republican operative familiar with the race, told Fox News Digital Wednesday.

Some conservative personalities floated the possibility publicly on X. The pundit is known for his advocacy of the Trump administration on the airwaves, and he regularly goes viral for debating liberal pundits on the cable television network.

He served as a longtime advisor to the outgoing Kentucky senator and previously worked in the George W. Bush administration. 

“Could I nominate [Scott Jennings] for the United States Senate from the Commonwealth of Kentucky? He’d be a hell of a McConnell replacement,” pundit Erick Erickson tweeted.

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CNN’s Scott Jennings  (CNN)

“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 tweeted.

As for McConnell, the former Senate majority leader said last week he would not seek another term, leaving the door wide open for contenders in 2026.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the war effort against Russia Sept. 26. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

“Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell, who first took office in 1985, said on the Senate floor while announcing his retirement. 

“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.

Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has already entered the race, and Rep. Andy Barr is also mulling a bid. Cameron ran for governor in 2023, but he narrowly lost to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.

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Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, left, and former Republican Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (Getty Images)

In a recent campaign video, Cameron mentioned McConnell by name for voting against the nominations of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

“You should expect a senator from Kentucky to vote for those nominees to advance the ‘America first’ agenda,” Cameron said.

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Neither Trump nor McConnell have announced an endorsement in the race.

Fox News Digital reached out to Jennings but did not receive comment.