Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., announced Thursday she won't run for re-election and will instead retire at the end of her term in January 2027.
In a short video posted to social media, Smith told her supporters: "I wanted you to hear directly from me that I have decided not to run for re-election to the United States Senate in 2026."
In her video, Smith notes that while she enjoyed the role, she is "ready to spend more time with my family," adding that her grandchildren and children have moved to Minneapolis and that her father is turning 95 years old this summer.
"This decision is not political; it is entirely personal. But it's not lost on me that our country is in need of strong progressive leadership right now, maybe more than ever," she said.
Smith, 66, was appointed to the Senate in 2017 to fill the vacancy left by Democratic Sen. Al Franken's resignation in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations. Smith won a special election the next year and then another election in 2020 to serve a full six-year term.
She has been a longtime fixture in Minnesota politics since well before she joined the Senate, serving as the state's lieutenant governor and, before that, as a top aide to key Democratic politicians.
Smith is the second Senate Democrat to announce their retirements ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, following Gary Peters of Michigan. That means Democrats will have to defend at least two open seats as they face an uphill climb to take control of the Senate.
With its current split between 53 Republicans and 47 senators who caucus with Democrats, the party needs a net gain of four seats to control the Senate, since Vice President JD Vance controls the tiebreaking vote.
But Democrats signaled that they are confident they will hold on to Smith's seat in Minnesota, where Vice President Kamala Harris won by 4 percentage points in November. Republicans last won a statewide election there in 2006, when Tim Pawlenty narrowly won re-election as governor.
“No Republican has won a Minnesota Senate race in over 20 years, and Democrats will continue to hold this seat in 2026,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson David Bergstein said.
President Donald Trump's showing in Minnesota last year was the best by a Republican presidential candidate in the state in 20 years, at just under 47% of the vote.
Gregg Peppin, a veteran Republican consultant in Minnesota, was optimistic that the race is winnable for the GOP.
"Given the atmosphere and given the open seat and given the fact that there will be probably hotly contested primaries in both parties, I think this is probably our best chance in many years to field a quality candidate and run a competitive race,” Peppin said.
A potentially crowded race
The unexpected opening could mean a crowded primary among Democrats seeking higher office.
"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," Smith said in her video announcement.
"I'm excited to make room for them to move forward."
Smith didn't back a successor in a brief exchange with reporters in Washington, saying she wanted to make the announcement with "enough time" for potential candidates to consider running.
It will be the highest-profile open seat in Minnesota since 2018, when Rep. Tim Walz jumped into the governor's race and won. Walz hasn't announced yet whether he will run for a third term as governor in 2026. If he doesn't, having that race open could affect the field for the Senate seat.
Walz hasn’t ruled out running for the Senate, and he is also considering running for a third term as governor, said a source close to him.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan signaled Thursday that she will jump in the race, writing on X: “I love Minnesota and my intention is to run for U.S. Senate and continue to serve the people of this state. I’ll make a formal announcement later this month.”
All of Minnesota's statewide officeholders are Democrats, with Flanagan and Attorney General Keith Ellison among those with the highest profiles.
Members of Congress could take a look, too. Rep. Angie Craig has repeatedly won high-profile races in her suburban Minneapolis district, and a Democratic strategist named her as a potential candidate to watch.
Asked about Craig as a potential candidate, Smith told reporters at the U.S. Capitol that she was a "very good friend."
Connor McNutt, a spokesperson for Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, told NBC News that "Congresswoman Omar will be talking with Minnesotans about the future of the Senate seat and the DFL party in Minnesota." (The party is known as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor, or DFL, Party in Minnesota.)
Other potential Democratic candidates to watch include Secretary of State Steve Simon, former state Sen. Melisa López Franzen and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.
“I think it’s going to be a crowded field at the end of the day," said Corey Day, a former executive director of the Minnesota DFL. "These seats don’t open up often, and we have a pretty deep bench.”
Peppin, the GOP consultant, said Republicans have a deep bench, too. He noted potential candidates to watch include members of Congress, like GOP Reps. Pete Stauber and Brad Finstad, state legislators and past statewide candidates.
Republican Senate candidates in the state haven’t had much success in the state since they fell just a few hundred votes short against Franken in 2008, but an open seat could prompt some more prominent Republican candidates to give it another look.
Former professional basketball player Royce White was the GOP candidate who took on Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the last election, losing by 16 points, a much wider margin than in the presidential race.
Peppin noted that "candidate quality," along with pushback to Trump's first administration, have fueled GOP struggles in recent statewide races. But he stressed that there is a path to victory if Republicans can make gains in the state's suburban areas.
"That’s where statewide elections are won or lost in Minnesota,” Peppin said.
