Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) on Thursday announced she will not seek reelection in 2026, setting up a midterm election battle in the Democrat-leaning state.
“I’ve decided not to run for re-election to the Senate in 2026. This job has been the honor of a lifetime. For the rest of my term, I’ll work as hard as I can for Minnesotans and our country. Thank you so much, Minnesota,” Smith wrote on X.
Smith, who had joined Congress’s upper chamber in 2018, said her decision not to run for reelection came “after 20 years of hard and rewarding work in the public sector, I’m ready to spend more time with my family.”
The Minnesota Democrat replaced Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) when he resigned facing accusations of sexual misconduct and she won reelection by five points.
The state typically trends blue, even though President Donald Trump had come within a couple points of flipping the state in 2016 and did well in 2024.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) handily won reelection in 2024, defeating Republican candidate Royce White by 16 points.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee succinctly responded to the news, saying, “Retire or lose.”
“Minnesota is in play, and we play to win. Minnesotans deserve a Senator who will fight for lower taxes, economic opportunity, and safer communities,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) said in a statement on Thursday.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
