Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton Chooses Tina Smith To Replace Sen. Al Franken

Sen. Al Franken is out. No word on when he’s ACTUALLY leaving. He said it’s “in the coming weeks,” whatever that means.

According to reports, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has selected Tina Smith to replace the disgraced senator.

BREAKING: Democratic operative tells @AP Minnesota governor to appoint Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to Franken's seat; she will run in 2018.

— AP Central U.S. (@APCentralRegion) December 13, 2017

CONFIRMED: Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton will appoint Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to succeed Sen. Al Franken and she will run for the seat herself next November, according to multiple Democrats familiar with the decision. More t/k

— Ed O'Keefe (@edatpost) December 13, 2017

Congratulations to friend Tina Smith who will be appointed U.S. Senator from Minnesota @tinaflintsmith

This will be the first time in history Minnesota has had two female senators.

— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) December 13, 2017

.@keithellison, once viewed as a potential #mnsen candidate, says Tina Smith has his "full support" now and in the 2018 special pic.twitter.com/Z8Rec2XeXC

— Kimberly Railey (@KimberlyRailey) December 13, 2017

He said she’s “extremely intelligent, quick to learn and always open to hearing other views.”

Like Dayton and Franken, Smith, 59, is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

Smith has been a longtime adviser to Dayton, serving as his chief of staff before becoming lieutenant governor.

She has also worked on multiple campaigns, including managing Walter Mondale’s unsuccessful 2002 Senate run as well as his son Ted Mondale’s 1998 gubernatorial campaign – which was also unsuccessful. She was the chief of staff for Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak before joining Dayton.

She was thought to put her hat in the ring for governor earlier this year to replace Dayton in 2018 but ultimately passed on the gubernatorial bid.

Lawrence Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, said that Smith “doesn’t come across like other kind of major politicians,” citing such examples as Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

“She’s soft-spoken. She would prefer to be in a room negotiating or talking with people than giving a political speech. That’s not really her style,” Jacobs said. “She can do it, but it’s something that she’s had to learn.”

Now we just have to wait and see when Franken will pack it up and head on out.

h/t Fox News