Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith (D-Minn) has been selected to replace Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) ahead of his upcoming resignation.
On Dec. 7, Franken announced he would be resigning from as the junior senator “in the coming weeks” after several women came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against him. A date for his official resignation has not been announced.
While Franken submitted himself to an internal ethics investigation, many Democratic leaders called for him to resign. Franken stepped down in the middle of his second term, which would have run until 2020. A special election will be held in 2018 to decide the seat holder for the remainder of the term. Smith plans to run for the seat in the special election, according to Politico.
Minnesota’s other senator, Democrat Amy Klobuchar, is also up for reelection in 2018.
H/T Politico
