The Minnesota Democrat will not seek reelection in 2026, setting up a key Senate race in a battleground state as Democrats seek to defend the seat.
Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) stated on Feb. 13 that she will not seek reelection at the end of her current term.
She’s the second Democratic senator to announce plans to step down in 2026, joining Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who in January announced his retirement from public office after his current term ends next year.
In a video statement, Smith emphasized that her decision was personal rather than political, citing a desire to spend more time with her growing family.
“After 20 years of hard and rewarding work in the public sector, I’m ready to spend more time with my family,” she said, mentioning her four grandchildren and extended family in Minneapolis.
While stepping away from electoral politics, Smith pledged to remain active in her role for the remainder of her term.
“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,” she said, adding that stepping away from reelection efforts would allow her to “focus entirely on this job right now.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) praised Smith’s tenure, calling her “a champion of women’s rights” and lauding her work on mental health care.
“While we will only work together for the next two years, our friendship and her legacy will last a lifetime,” Klobuchar said in a post on X.
Smith was first appointed to the Senate in 2017 by then-Gov. Mark Dayton to replace Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) after he announced his resignation. She won a special election in 2018 to serve the remainder of the term and was reelected to a full six-year term in 2020.
Prior to her Senate tenure, Smith had a long career in both business and politics. She worked for General Mills, ran her own small business, and later served as an executive at Planned Parenthood.
She became active in Minnesota politics, serving as chief of staff to Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak before taking the same role for Dayton. In 2014, she successfully ran for lieutenant governor and served in that position until her Senate appointment.
Smith expressed confidence that Minnesota’s Democratic Party has a “deep bench of political talent” ready to step up in the 2026 election.
“I’m excited to make room for them to move forward,” she said.
Her decision sets up what could be a competitive race for her seat, with both Democratic and Republican candidates expected to vie for the open position. Democrats haven’t lost a statewide race in Minnesota since 2006, but Republicans came within a percentage point in 2022 races for state auditor and attorney general.
Minnesota has been a battleground state in recent elections, and the upcoming race could play a crucial role in determining the balance of power in the Senate. Republicans took control of the U.S. Senate in the November 2024 elections with 53 seats.
Including Minnesota, there are 35 Senate seats on the 2026 ballot, most of them Republican ones in states that President Donald Trump carried in November. Democrats are defending 13 seats including the seats that will be vacated by Smith and Peters. Two of those seats, in Michigan and Georgia, are in states that Trump won in 2024.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024, will be up for reelection again in 2026. He has not ruled out running for a third term as governor and has not commented on any possible run for federal office. Minnesota does not have term limits for the office of governor.
In a post on X, the governor said Minnesotans will miss having Smith in the Senate.
“Tina has always done the work to improve people’s lives: lowering the price of insulin, improving access to mental health services, passing historic climate legislation, and our party’s champion for reproductive freedom,” he said.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times on whether or not he would consider running to fill Smith’s Senate seat next year.