Senator Amy Klobuchar set to become Minnesota's governor in January, attention is already turning to who could be appointed to fill the Senate seat she will leave behind. Klobuchar defeated Republican state House Speaker Lisa Demuth with about 55 percent of the vote compared to Demuth’s 42 percent in the North Star State's gubernatorial election. Her victory followed the decision by outgoing Governor Tim Walz not to seek a third term amid a corruption controversy that clouded the final years of his administration, creating an open-seat race that ultimately elevated Klobuchar to the state's top office and now leaves Democrats searching for a successor in the U.S.
Under Minnesota law, a U.S. Senate vacancy is filled by gubernatorial appointment, meaning the decision could fall to either Walz or Klobuchar herself, depending on when she formally resigns her Senate seat. While Klobuchar has suggested she could be the one to name her Senate successor after taking office as governor, Hamline University professor of political science and legal studies David Schultz told Newsweek on Thursday that she may instead leave the appointment to Walz while privately signaling her preferred candidate.
Doing so could help avoid criticism that she was using her promotion to the governor's mansion to personally select her own replacement in the Senate. Regardless of who makes the final appointment, several names have been floated as possible replacements. Newsweek reached out to Klobuchar’s campaign by email for comment on Thursday afternoon.
Klobuchar would likely consider candidates who share her ideology and have high chances of reelection, Schultz said. Representative Kelly Morrison, of Minnesota's District 3. She won her reelection bid against Republican Tyler Bass with 64 percent of the vote to Bass’ 35.9 percent.
Schultz said he’s heard Morrison’s name mentioned as a potential replacement for Klobuchar. Another possibility is Democrat Angie Craig, who lost the primary election to Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan in the race for Minnesota’s open Senate seat. Flanagan won the nomination by 20 percentage points.
Craig was a U.S. representative before she left her seat to run for Senate. Another name that has been floated is Democratic Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, who just won his reelection campaign against Republican Tad Jude, with 54.7 percent of the vote to Jude’s 41.8 percent. However, Schultz said he doubted that Klobuchar would choose a man as her replacement, as there are currently two women in the Senate from Minnesota—Klobuchar and Tina Smith, who is retiring at the end of her term.
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