MN Sen. Tina Smith announces plan to retire in 2026

Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota, has announced she will retire from the upper chamber in 2026.

Her decision means that Democrats will have one more seat to defend in the Senate, where they are already behind by a margin of 53 to 47 seats.

While Minnesota is a Democrat-leaning state, and Smith won her race in 2020 by 5 points against her Republican challenger, this isn't a seat that her party will just be able to assume is in the win column.

That means that Democratic Party resources will be stretched even more thin trying to find a replacement to fill vacancies in swing states.

Just last month, Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan, announced that he will not run again in his key Midwestern battleground state.

This certainly isn't a death blow to liberals in these areas, but it's generally easier for an established incumbent to win re-election than it is for a fresh face to be victorious the first time out.

Smith said that she did not take political calculations into account when deciding to retire. She just wants to spend more time with her grandkids.

"This decision is not political. It is entirely personal," she announced.

Either way, her decision is a slight boost to Republicans hoping to retain a majority in the Senate in 2026.