There's a section of Kentucky's constitution that says the governor fills vacancies for offices that are elected statewide. Now, there may be a question about whether a federal office fits in that, but here's what I tell you. Before there was ever a statute about how a governor appoints a vacancy in the US Senate, governors did it, presumably under that section of the state constitution. in which case a law passed by the General assembly can't violate or contradict it. But I do think it's at least a little interesting that the legislature not once but twice tried to pass laws changing that. (01:01–01:15)
CLAIM
Asserts that historically, governors appointed US Senate vacancies under a section of the state constitution before any statute existed.
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