by Scott McClallen
Incumbent Democrat Tina Smith defeated Republican Jason Lewis for a U.S. Senate seat.
The Associated Press called the race for Smith just before 12:30 a.m.
Smith garnered 49.5%, or 1.4 million votes, over Lewis’ 42.8%, or 1.2 million votes, with 90% of precincts reporting.
Lewis spent 25 years as a conservative talk show host in the Twin Cities before winning Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District seat in 2016, which he held for one term until he was beaten by now U.S. Rep. Angie Craig.
Smith previously served as chief of staff for Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton in 2011. In 2014, she ran for lieutenant governor and won.
Afterward, Dayton appointed her to fill former Sen. Al Franken’s Senate seat in 2017 after he resigned amid sexual misconduct allegations.
Lewis has campaigned on supporting police, cutting taxes, and cutting spending.
Meanwhile, Smith campaigned to reform police, ending no-knock warrants; ending police chokeholds; ending qualified immunity for police officers; and ending the 1033 program that allows local police to receive military weapons.
In July 2020, Smith introduced the Substance Regulation and Safety Act to legalize cannabis and regulate cannabis federally.
Republicans haven’t won a Minnesota U.S. Senate seat since Richard Nixon won the 1972 presidential race against Sen. George McGovern by a landslide.
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Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi.
