--- title: Minnesota's Lieutenant Governor 'Could Replace Al Franken' description: A local news report claims that Tina Smith is being tipped for Al Franken's Senate seat after he resigned amid harassment allegations. canonical: https://time.com/5055584/tina-smith-al-franken-senate-replacement/ author: Laignee Barron article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-08T07:57:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:30:01.886Z article:section: Politics og:title: Minnesota's Lieutenant Governor 'Could Replace Al Franken' og:description: A local news report says Tina Smith is being tipped for the Senate og:url: https://time.com/5055584/tina-smith-al-franken-senate-replacement/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01cc35b6413e95f9/6988f44d096a9422c96a0b4f/gettyimages-800024156.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Vice Governor of Minnesota Visits Cuba og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Minnesota's Lieutenant Governor 'Could Replace Al Franken' twitter:description: A local news report says Tina Smith is being tipped for the Senate twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01cc35b6413e95f9/6988f44d096a9422c96a0b4f/gettyimages-800024156.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Minnesota's Female Lieutenant Governor Could Replace Al Franken in the Senate, Report Says by [Laignee Barron](https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Dec 8, 2017 7:57 AM UTC  Tina Smith, Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, looks on during a press conference as part of her official visit on June 22, 2017 to Havanna, Cuba. Tina Smith, Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, looks on during a press conference as part of her official visit on June 22, 2017 to Havanna, Cuba.Mastrafoto/CON—LatinContent/Getty Images by [Laignee Barron](https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Dec 8, 2017 7:57 AM UTC Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith has reportedly been tipped to takeover a Senate seat after Al Franken announced his resignation amid multiple sexual harassment allegations. The Minneapolis _Star Tribune_ said Thursday that Smith was the [likeliest choice](http://www.startribune.com/gov-mark-dayton-likely-to-tap-lt-gov-tina-smith-as-franken-replacement/462412193/) to replace Franken. It cited an unnamed high-ranking Democrat source. If selected, Smith would be the [22nd woman](http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/current-numbers) currently in the Senate, a new record for Capitol Hill and the first female appointment to come in the wake of sexual harassment scandals rocking Washington this year. However, Gov. Mark Dayton said in [a statement](https://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/?id=1055-320009) that he has not yet decided on who would serve as the caretaker of the Senate spot. Smith, a close ally of the Minnesota governor and a former [chief of staff](https://mn.gov/governor/dayton/smith-bio.jsp) for the Minneapolis mayor, has previously indicated that she has no interest in running for office herself, which could mean that she would only temporarily occupy the Senate seat until the November 2018 special election. Her presumed lack of interest in that political race makes her an [appealing candidate](https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/06/al-franken-senate-smith-211125) for the job, sources told Politico. “She makes practical sense, and she would be a good bridge builder,” one Democratic operative told Politico. A potential drawback that may give Democrats pause if Smith is appointed is that it could set off a chain reaction down the ladder of Minnesota’s political landscape, [leaving vacancies](http://www.startribune.com/gov-mark-dayton-likely-to-tap-lt-gov-tina-smith-as-franken-replacement/462412193/) in the state senate that Republicans could use to widen their slim majority. Franken faced a mounting chorus of calls for his exit after the seventh woman came forward with a sexual assault allegation on Wednesday, accusing the former comedian of forcibly kissing her. Franken has denied some of the allegations against him, but announced on Thursday that [he would resign](http://time.com/5053958/al-franken-resigns/?xid=homepage) in the “coming weeks.” Minnesota’s other Senate seat is currently occupied by the first woman elected to that office, Democrat Amy Klobuchar. Only [five states](http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/women-us-senate-2017) have had two women Senators represent them simultaneously. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5055584/tina-smith-al-franken-senate-replacement/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5055584/tina-smith-al-franken-senate-replacement/"},"headline":"Minnesota's Female Lieutenant Governor Could Replace Al Franken in the Senate, Report Says","datePublished":"2017-12-08T07:57:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:30:01.886Z","description":"If selected, Tina Smith would be the 22nd woman currently in the Senate","url":"https://time.com/5055584/tina-smith-al-franken-senate-replacement/","keywords":["Senate","States","sexual harassment","Minnesota","al franken","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01cc35b6413e95f9/6988f44d096a9422c96a0b4f/gettyimages-800024156.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laignee Barron","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01cc35b6413e95f9/6988f44d096a9422c96a0b4f/gettyimages-800024156.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Vice Governor of Minnesota Visits Cuba","caption":"Vice Governor of Minnesota Visits Cuba","creditText":"Mastrafoto/CON—LatinContent/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/senate/","name":"Senate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5055584/tina-smith-al-franken-senate-replacement/","name":"Minnesota's Female Lieutenant Governor Could Replace Al Franken in the Senate, Report Says"}}]}] ```