Sen. Smith does Minnesota right in Senate and retirement

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U.S. Sen. Tina Smith provided the coda to her improbable political rise in the same respectful, dignified and direct manner with which she has always conducted herself.

Smith isn’t stepping down; she announced Thursday that she intends to serve out the two years remaining on her term and promised to use every single day of it advocating for Minnesotans.

At 66, Smith might have had decades ahead of her in the Senate if the voters allowed, but she’s felt the pull of heart and home. “And after two decades of hard, rewarding work in public service, I’m ready to prioritize other things — starting with my family,” she wrote in her announcement.

That’s typical Smith. She has a long track record of putting the greater good over personal ambition. After Sen. Al Franken was forced to resign in December 2017 amid allegations of misconduct, then-Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Smith, his lieutenant governor, to the seat where she instantly became a calming, steady presence after a tumultuous stretch.

Smith, a Minnesota transplant, made her way in politics by serving others. She helped run former DFL state Sen. Ted Mondale’s 1998 gubernatorial campaign. She was beside former Vice President Walter F. Mondale when he stepped up and ran for two weeks to try to hold the seat vacated by the death of U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone in a 2002 plane crash.

She served as chief of staff to Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and held the same pressure-filled role in Gov. Mark Dayton’s office before he tapped her to join the 2014 ticket as lieutenant governor.

Smith was never about self-promotion or personal ambition. She wasn’t one to seek the spotlight or snicker behind the scenes. She was about doing the work.

Her early political efforts focused on protecting women’s reproductive rights at Planned Parenthood. She remained firmly committed to that cause throughout her career, deeply knowledgeable of the relentless threat to care.

That she ascended to the U.S. Senate without the ego, sharp-elbows or boost of a famous family name always seemed like unbelievable serendipity. She took it seriously without changing her thoughtful, reasoned approach and firm Democratic ideals.

She was the approachable junior senator, not one to usurp Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s national ambitions and supreme confidence in the spotlight. Smith chose her moments, though, when it came to passion projects, notably revealing her own private struggle with depression as she pushed for more funding for mental health care.

She focused on the gritty policy work, not the perks or the spotlight available to those in one of the world’s most exclusive clubs. (Free VIP parking at Washington, D.C., airports, gold-plated health care and pensions to say nothing of state dinners at the White House.)

“I know my decision may come as a surprise,” she said in her retirement notice. “After all, we live in a time when elected officials tend to continue their service well past what the rest of us consider to be ‘retirement age.’”

True that. We saw U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein hold onto power for decades before she died in office, a sliver of her former indomitable self, at age 90 in 2023. Now we have 91-year-old Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and 82-year-old former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., struggling on occasion to put together a sentence or tumbling on stairs.

While there’s plenty to be said for experience and seniority, it’s admirable for a leader to step aside to make way for energetic and emerging talent.

Smith won’t have trouble adjusting to life back in Minnesota nor would I expect her to shy away from the role of an emeritus senator.

She always dressed for comfort in muted hues, likely a loose oxford, khakis and comfortable shoes no matter the occasion. Two decades ago, I remember her sitting in the back of a basement committee room, her young sons beside her doing their homework as she monitored the committee action.

Smith didn’t need to be in the front row or in the camera lens. She just did the work.

And now she’s done Minnesotans proud by announcing her intentions and providing her many would-be successors a long runway to declare and put together their teams for that rare prize of an open U.S. Senate seat.

“We have a deep bench of political talent in Minnesota, a group of leaders that are more than ready to pick up the work and carry us forward, and I’m excited to make room for them to move forward,” she said.

Until now, Smith’s intentions became Minnesotans’ favorite political parlor game. Would she run again? The pull of family was always clear. Her two sons are now married fathers with young children, making Smith a grandmother of four. Smith and her husband of 41 years, Archie, can enjoy the ultimate luxury of time and means to enjoy retirement.

“This decision is not political, it is entirely personal,” she said in her official statement.

I would expect Smith to remain a force, as she always has, helping other Democrats behind the scenes. I expect we’ll also get her around more on the weekends walking the lakes, hitting the Mill City Farmers Market and maybe the zoo with the grandkids.

There are many who disagree with her positions, especially on abortion. But Smith is a person whom you would not find to be disagreeable. She wasn’t just a senator, she was a friend, adviser and confidante to many as well as a public servant whose path to the U.S. Senate showed the enduring value of integrity, commitment and hard work.