Speculation about Sen. Amy Klobuchar prompts political chess at Minnesota Legislature [View all]

The Minnesota Senate was considering a whole lot of “ifs” on Thursday.

What if President-elect Joe Biden offered U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar a job in his administration? What if she took it? Then what if Gov. Tim Walz appointed Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to Klobuchar’s seat?

Whether any of that will happen remains to be seen, but Senate Republicans weren’t planning to wait around to find out. In the sixth special session this year, legislators played political chess as Republicans tried to protect their one-seat hold on the Senate next year if Klobuchar joins Biden’s cabinet.

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In an unusual move, Republicans shifted Sen. David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm, into the president’s job, replacing Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, for the remainder of 2020. The strategy was to protect Miller’s seat in case he might be called upon to automatically fill the post of lieutenant governor in the event Walz picked Flanagan to replace Klobuchar in the U.S. Senate. With Tomassoni installed as Senate president, the job would go to him, vacating a Senate seat held by a Democrat instead of a Republican.

The gambit was to prevent a repeat of 2017. That’s when former Gov. Mark Dayton appointed then-Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to Al Franken’s open U.S. Senate seat. GOP Senate President Michelle Fischbach ascended to the role of lieutenant governor, prompting a court fight as Fischbach tried to maintain both roles to prevent the GOP from losing a 34-33 majority. She ultimately resigned her Senate seat and a special election was held to fill it.

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https://www.startribune.com/republicans-in-legislature-make-moves-on-klobuchar-speculation/573057031/