Tag: Lt. Gov. Tina Smith

Gov. Mark Dayton appoints Tina Smith to U.S. Senate

The following article by Erin Golden and J. Patrick Coolican was posted on the StarTribune website December 13, 2017:

Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, a Democrat, will take over for Sen. Al Franken when he officially resigns from Senate.

Lt. Gov. Tina Smith accepted an appointment to the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, preparing to replace Al Franken as one of Minnesota’s most powerful officials in Washington and vowing to protect the seat for Democrats in next year’s special election.

“Though I never anticipated this moment, I am resolved to do everything I can to move Minnesota forward,” Smith said, moments after DFL Gov. Mark Dayton announced that he was her choice to replace Franken following his upcoming resignation in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal.

When she officially joins the Senate — likely to happen in early January — Smith will join Sen. Amy Klobuchar to make Minnesota one of only four states with two women senators (the others are California, Washington and New Hampshire). Continue reading “Gov. Mark Dayton appoints Tina Smith to U.S. Senate”

Following Smith appointment to US Senate, Minnesota Senate will be up for grabs

St. Paul, Minn.—Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith’s appointment to U.S. Senate by Governor Mark Dayton, announced today, has set in motion a number of rarely used mechanisms. The Minnesota State Senate President, Sen. Michelle Fischbach (GOP-Paynesville), will become the Lieutenant Governor according to the line of succession outlined in the Minnesota Constitution (Article 5, Section 5). Sen. Fischbach confirmed her intention to do so in a press conference this afternoon.

In 1972 Minnesotans approved a constitutional amendment removing the duties of the Senate President from the Lieutenant Governor. This amendment, which became the modern Article 4, Section 5 of the Minnesota Constitution prohibits Sen. Fischbach from serving in both the Minnesota Senate and as the Lieutenant Governor. Because the succession cannot be declined, this forthcoming appointment will trigger a special election for the senate seat, once Sen. Al Franken’s resignation is official. Senate District 13, currently represented by Sen. Fischbach, includes the communities of Sauk Rapids, Sartell, and St. Joseph, Paynesville, Kimball, Cold Spring Rockville, Holdingford and others. Continue reading “Following Smith appointment to US Senate, Minnesota Senate will be up for grabs”