Former Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith is sworn in today (11am CT) to replace Al Franken in the U-S Senate, meaning the president of the Minnesota Senate, Republican Michelle Fischbach, becomes lieutenant governor. Republicans don’t want to risk losing a special election in Fischbach’s Paynesville district and say she’ll continue serving in the Senate while she’s lieutenant governor. Democrats say that’s unconstitutional and are threatening legal action. Fischbach said last week if she’s forced out, she’ll run for her old Senate seat in a special election and, if she wins, resign as lieutenant governor. Democratic Senator Bobby Joe Champion from Minneapolis says about that: “She has the freedom to do that, if that’s what she wants to do, but would I naturally assume that one would want to serve the great state of Minnesota in any capacity that they can.”