The race to fill former Sen. Al Franken’s seat is narrowing, as Democratic Sen. Tina Smith is now considered one of the “most vulnerable senators.”
With less than 24 hours before the polls open, Roll Call has added Smith to their list of the top ten “most vulnerable senators.”
Smith is running against Republican state Sen. Karin Housley in the special election to replace Franken who resigned following accusations of sexual misconduct. Whoever wins Tuesday night will complete the remaining two years of Franken’s term. The race is tight — a recent Star Tribune/MPR poll has Smith leading Housley 47 percent to 41 percent.
The change in ranking from Roll Call reflects the increasing competitiveness of the contest — something the Housley campaign has felt confident in from the beginning.
“It’s nice the national media is seeing what we’ve known since we began this campaign: Minnesotans are tired of the far-left partisanship and extremism and obstruction on display from the appointed Senator Tina Smith,” Jake Schneider, Housley for Senate spokesman, told Alpha News.
“For eleven months, Team Housley has been all over Minnesota, listening to the challenges our communities are facing,” Schneider added. “Tina Smith has taken the voters of Minnesota for granted, despite never having been elected.”
Last week national Democratic fundraising outfits made last minute six-figure investments into the race, a sign that Schneider says confirms national Democrats feel the contest is too close for comfort. With Housley hot on Smith’s heels, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has spent $700,000 in local ads that will run through Election Day. The Democratic group Senate Majority PAC also pitched in $400,000 in digital ads for Smith to run the week leading up to the election.
“We’ve made this a race and national Democrats know it,” Schneider said. “We’re confident that hard work will pay off.”
