Christine Elizabeth Smith (née Flint, born March 4, 1958) is an American politician and former businesswoman serving as the junior United States senator from Minnesota since 2018. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), an affiliate of the Democratic Party. Smith served as the 48th lieutenant governor of Minnesota from 2015 to 2018 before being appointed to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by Al Franken. She won the 2018 special election to fill the remainder of Franken's term, through January 2021, defeating Republican Karin Housley, a Minnesota state senator. In 2020, Smith was elected to a full Senate term, defeating the Republican nominee, former U.S. Representative Jason Lewis.


== Early life and education ==
Smith was born on March 4, 1958, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the daughter of Christine, a teacher, and F. Harlan Flint, a lawyer. She mostly grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, attending Manderfield and Acequia Madre Elementary. She finished high school in Northern California.Before going to college, Smith worked on the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. She graduated from Stanford University with a degree in political science, and later earned a master's degree in business administration from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.


== Early career ==
In 1984, Smith moved to Minnesota for a marketing job at General Mills. She later started her own marketing firm, where she consulted with businesses and nonprofits.In the early 1990s, Smith became involved in local politics, volunteering for DFL campaigns in Minneapolis. She managed Ted Mondale's unsuccessful 1998 campaign for governor. After Minnesota's U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash weeks before the 2002 election, Smith managed former U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale's campaign for the seat. After Mondale lost a narrow election to Norm Coleman, Smith began working as the vice president of external affairs at Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.In 2006, Smith left her job at Planned Parenthood to serve as chief of staff to Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak. In 2010 she was picked to manage Rybak's gubernatorial campaign, which ended after Margaret Anderson Kelliher won the DFL endorsement. Smith then joined the campaign of Mark Dayton, who skipped the endorsing convention and eventually won the DFL primary. After Dayton defeated Republican Tom Emmer in the general election, Smith was named a co-chair of the transition. When Dayton took office in January 2011, he appointed Smith his chief of staff.


== Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota ==


=== 2014 election ===

When Lieutenant Governor Yvonne Prettner Solon announced she would not seek reelection, Dayton selected Smith as his running mate in the 2014 gubernatorial election. He cited Smith's work on passing legislation for new Minnesota Vikings Stadium, as well as her support for the Destination Medical Center project with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.Smith stepped down as Dayton's chief of staff to campaign for lieutenant governor. After being nominated by acclamation at the DFL state convention, and facing only token opposition in the DFL gubernatorial primary, Dayton and Smith defeated Republicans Jeff Johnson and Bill Kuisle in the general election.


=== Tenure ===

Smith took office as lieutenant governor on January 5, 2015, and served until she was appointed to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate on January 2, 2018. During her tenure Smith was described by many political observers as having a much higher profile and playing a much more significant role in legislative negotiations than her predecessors. She spent a significant amount of time traveling the state in support of the priorities of Dayton's administration, including funding for optional preschool for all four-year-olds, transportation infrastructure, and rural broadband internet access. She also served as chair of the Destination Medical Center board until her resignation in December 2017.In 2016 Roll Call named Smith to its "America's Top 25 Most Influential Women in State Politics" list, citing her high-profile role in the Dayton administration.Despite widespread speculation to the contrary, Smith announced in March 2017 that she would not run for governor in the 2018 election.


== U.S. Senate ==


=== Appointment ===
On December 13, 2017, Governor Dayton announced Smith as his pick to fill the United States Senate seat held by Al Franken, who had announced he would resign amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Democrats in the state immediately united around Smith as the party's candidate in the November 2018 special election to fill Franken's term.Franken officially resigned on January 2, 2018.


=== Elections ===


==== 2018 Special ====

In August 2018, Smith won the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party primary with 76% of the vote. Richard Painter, a White House ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush administration,