U.S. Sen. Tina Smith won’t seek re-election in 2026

WASHINGTON - Tina Smith will not run for reelection to the U.S. Senate, the junior senator from Minnesota announced in a video Wednesday.

“This decision is not political, it is entirely personal,” the Democrat said of her move, citing wanting to spend more time with her growing family.

She was appointed to the seat by then Gov. Mark Dayton in December of 2017 to replace former Sen. Al Franken, who resigned following sexual harassment allegations. She won a special election in 2018, and re-election in 2020. She had been Dayton’s lieutenant governor.

Her departure is likely to draw many candidates for the seat from both sides.

In her announcement, Smith said she was ready to welcome a new generation of leadership from Minnesota to take her spot.

“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.

Smith’s announcement comes after she said at the end of last year that she planned to run for reelection. However, Smith recently indicated she may be having second thoughts.

“I have nearly two full years left in my Senate term, and I plan to use every single day working as hard as I can to represent your interests in the United States Senate and make sure that your voices are heard,” she said.

Smith recently left her post as vice chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) in which she worked to help Democrats maintain their slim majority in the U.S. Senate.

But Republicans ultimately won the Senate, House and White House, resulting in a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber this year.

The Republican Senate campaign arm was quick to respond to Smith’s announcement. “Retire or lose,” The National Republican Senatorial Committee said on X.

Minnesota’s highest ranking Republican, Rep. Tom Emmer, the No. 3 GOP in the U.S. House, appeared to rule out a run for her seat shortly after Smith’s announcement.

“I am focused on doing the job I was elected to do and that is serving the great people of Minnesota’s Sixth District here in Congress. We have a lot of work to do to implement President Trump’s agenda and that’s where I’m concentrating my efforts,” Emmer said on X.

The last Republican who held a U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota was Norm Coleman, who departed the seat in 2009. And Republicans have not won statewide since 2006.

This is a developing story.