McConnell had hoped to be majority chief

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - It may go without saying that the job of Senate minority leader isn't exactly what Sen. Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record) had envisioned for himself after the elections.

While the Kentucky Republican regrets Democrats' control of Congress denies him the chance to become the next Senate majority leader, he sees the GOP carving out a significant, albeit slightly different role.

"We'll be able block or shape legislation. My preference of course is to accomplish things," said McConnell, who is now running unopposed to be Senate Republican leader.

When the new Senate convenes in January, Democrats will control 51 seats to Republicans' 49. The close split means Republicans still will have significant power, because it often takes 60 votes to pass legislation.

"Forty-nine is a pretty robust minority. I've been there when we were at 42," said McConnell, who currently holds the No. 2 position of whip in the Senate GOP hierarchy and is expected to succeed retiring Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist (news, bio, voting record) as GOP leader.

Republican senators are to pick their leaders on Nov. 15. Utah Republican Sen. Robert Bennett (news, bio, voting record) said McConnell has been methodically planning for the top job, fending off potential challenges along the way.

"Brick by brick, he built a firewall," Bennett said, adding that McConnell also has "the best political instincts of any of the people on the leadership team."

McConnell is part of a Washington power couple, with his marriage to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. He has considerably more political experience than Frist had when he was catapulted into the majority leader's job in 2002. McConnell headed the committee that sets Senate rules and oversaw the GOP's recruitment and financial backing of Senate candidates.

Even Frist acknowledges McConnell's experience gives him "a huge advantage" taking on the Senate's GOP leadership. McConnell, Frist said, has another big strength: His ability to keep a secret in a town known for loose lips. Democrats, too, call McConnell a trustworthy adversary.

"My dealings with McConnell have been very straightforward, and he's kept his word," Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois.

McConnell was best known until recently for blocking new limits on campaign donations, an effort that gained him a reputation as Darth Vader to his rivals. That success ended in 2002 when Congress passed a campaign finance bill.

A skilled fundraiser, McConnell argues that limiting money in campaigns is akin to muzzling political speech. He doles out advice and staff. along with money, to help other Republican candidates. His critics accuse him of protecting horse racing, tobacco makers and other special interests that figure prominently in his state and are among his campaign donors, and of sometimes resorting to harsh tactics.

In 1984, when he first won his Senate seat defeating Democratic incumbent Walter Huddleston, McConnell ran ads showing bloodhounds searching for Huddleston to convey his opponent as being out of touch with the voters. McConnell helped fellow Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning (news, bio, voting record) turn back a challenge in 2004.

"He is a master of the negative campaign," said Kentucky state Sen. Daniel Mongiardo, who lost to Bunning in that election. "He knows how to win elections. He knows it takes money and he knows that with enough money you can make your opponent look as bad as you need to."