State Senator Michelle Fischbach says she will continue to represent her Paynesville area district while also serving as lieutenant governor, but the governor’s office says the constitution doesn’t allow her to remain in the Senate and both sides are now seeking legal opinions. It’s fallout from Governor Mark Dayton’s decision to appoint current Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith to replace Senator Al Franken. Fischbach says her primary obligation is to represent Senate District 13 but she’s also ready to take on the duties of lieutenant governor, “Because the Constitution says ‘shall.’ So it’s not a want, it’s a constitutional duty.”
Republicans say they don’t want a special election for Fischbach’s seat. They’d probably win — but if they didn’t, they would lose their majority in the Minnesota Senate.