Tina Smith: Why I’ll leave the U.S. Senate after serving out my term

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Dear Minnesotans:

I wanted you to hear directly from me that I have decided not to run for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2026.

I know my decision may come as a surprise. 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.” And I understand, I really do, why it’s so hard for people to walk away from this job. I’ll never have a greater honor than working for the people of Minnesota.

That said, politicians are human beings. As much as I love my work, I’m fortunate enough to be able to say that my work is only part of what makes up my life. And after two decades of hard, rewarding work in public service, I’m ready to prioritize other things — starting with my family.

Time flies. When I got to the Senate, Archie and I weren’t grandparents, but now we have four grandkids, all under the age of 5. And with our sons, Sam and Mason, and our daughters-in-law, Emily and Julia, all living in Minnesota for the first time, we plan to spend lots of time with them, as well as with my dad, who turns 95 this June, and our entire extended family of siblings, nieces and nephews. Archie and I have been married for 41 years, and we have a lot we’re looking forward to doing together, but a big part of the plan involves simply being around to cook dinners, organize sleepovers, go on field trips and just step in whenever an extra pair of hands are needed.

My decision, then, has nothing to do with politics. It’s entirely personal. But it’s not lost on me that I’m stepping away from elected office at a time when strong, progressive leadership in Washington is more important than ever. As much as I’m looking forward to whatever new adventure awaits in this big, complicated, beautiful world, I know I will be leaving Minnesota’s next senator with some critical work to do.

I’m keeping in mind two things. First, I have another two years left in this job — a full third of the term Minnesotans elected me to back in 2020 — and I’m going to use every day of that time to represent you as well as I can. No senioritis here: I’m going to keep fighting to uphold our shared values and get things done to the very best of my ability. Even better, because I won’t be spending these next two years campaigning for another term, I’ll be able to focus entirely on standing up for Minnesota in the Senate.

Second — and this is really important to me — I know that we have a deep bench of political talent in Minnesota ready to carry on this work for all of us. I think it’s important that people in my position do what they can to lift up the next generation of leaders, and our state is fortunate enough to have many such rising leaders who are more than ready to serve in the Senate. One of them will earn my vote and, I hope, yours.

So while I’ll be sad to leave the Senate in two years, today I am full of hope for the future — and pride for the things we’ve been able to accomplish. We’ve delivered hundreds of projects to Minnesota communities — from new child care centers to cleaner drinking water to better broadband. We protected the Boundary Waters (a fight that continues) and passed the most important and impactful clean-energy law in our nation’s history. We made Juneteenth a federal holiday and restored land stolen by the federal government to Minnesota tribes.

None of that, of course, would have been possible without my incredibly talented and dedicated work family: my staff. Nor could we have made so much progress without the community activists and labor leaders and DFL volunteers who have kept me so focused on the people I was elected to serve.

The thing I’ll miss most about this job won’t be the title or the perks of the office — and it certainly won’t be the public profile. It’ll be the feeling of being invited into Minnesota’s living room on a daily basis. I’ve met so many of you, and you’ve been so generous to share with me your energy, your inspiration and your insight. I’m not sure how I can ever properly thank you.

The good news is that I still have two years as your senator to figure that out. And while I do, I’m going to keep working hard every single day to be worthy of the faith you have placed in me.

Tina Smith, a Democrat, has represented Minnesota in the U.S. Senate since 2018.