Mn. Lt. Gov. Tina Smith Will Assume Sen. Al Franken's Seat | Smith Will Run In 2018

Current Minn. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) will be joined by current Minn. Lt. Gov. Tina Smith (D), tapped by Minn. Gov. Mark Dayton to replace current Sen. Al Franken, who is resigning. 

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton appointed fellow Democrat Lt. Gov. Tina Smith on Wednesday to replace Sen. Al Franken until a special election in November. Smith, who previously said she was not interested in a permanent Senate seat, has reversed her decision and will run in a potentially bruising 2018 election.

“I will run in that election and I will do my best to earn Minnesotans’ support,” she said at the news conference where Dayton announced her appointment.

Franken, who resigned under pressure from fellow Democrats after he was accused of improper behavior by at least eight women, announced last Thursday that he would resign “in the coming weeks.” His office said Tuesday that he had not yet set a final departure date.

A native of New Mexico, Smith graduated from Stanford and earned an MBA from Dartmouth. She moved to Minn. for a marketing job with General Mills and eventually started her own marketing and political consulting firm. 

Smith has served as an executive for Planned Parenthood, certain to be a flash point with her Republican candidate. Her position will simultaneously solidify her support among Democratic women. 

It remains unclear if Minn. Dem. Congressman and Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Keith Ellison will challenge her in a Democratic primary. Others have also indicated an interest in running for the seat. The Justice Democrats circulated a position we posted on FB on Nov. 19, 2017. Promoting Ellison, the petition demanded the immediate resignation of Sen. Franken without any ethics investigation.

Minn. Sen. Amy Klobuchar {D} and the future Sen. Tina Smith will join Ca. Dem. women Senators Diane Feinstein and Kamala Harris; New Hampshire Dem. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan;  and Washington state Dem. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell,