Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to announce Wednesday morning that he will name Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to serve out the rest of Sen. Al Franken’s term.
Dayton is expected to make his announcement official at 11 a.m. EST, according to the Pioneer Press. Smith has been the perceived pick to replace Franken, and AP reported early Wednesday that Smith would be announced.
Franken has said he would resign in the next few weeks after his own Democratic colleagues said he should step down when several women accused him of groping them over the years.
But Franken has not said yet when he will leave office, which has left some wondering if he might still be trying to hang onto his seat.
Franken delivered a bitter farewell speech on the Senate floor last week in which he didn’t apologize, and continued to insist that he didn’t do many of the things women have described.
“Some of the allegations against me are simply not true,” he said. “Others I remember very differently.”
