Senate Democratic Leader Tom Bakk says if someone else doesn’t do it, he’ll likely sue if Republican colleague Michelle Fischbach tries to keep her state Senate seat after becoming lieutenant governor. Bakk says, “If Senator Fischbach… on February 20th I think if she believes she can gavel the Senate to order as a member of the Senate, I have to believe there’ll be a court challenge to that.”
Bakk and the governor’s office both say the Minnesota Constitution is clear that a person cannot hold more than one office, but Republicans dispute that. When Senator Al Franken officially resigns and Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith replaces him, Fischbach becomes lieutenant governor — but Republicans don’t want to risk losing a resulting special election in Fischbach’s district, because they’d then lose their majority in the Minnesota Senate.