Smith wins reelection in Minnesota

Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) on Tuesday was projected to win reelection in the race against former Rep. Jason Lewis (R-Minn.).

The Associated Press called the race at 1:16 a.m. EST. 

Smith’s win comes after she maintained a comfortable lead over Lewis throughout the past couple of months, with last week’s RealClearPolitics polling average placing Smith nearly 6 percentage points ahead of Lewis among voters.

Some polling, however, showed a much tighter race, with an Oct. 22 KSTP/SurveyUSA poll reporting that Smith and Lewis were statistically tied at 43 percent to 42 percent.

The incumbent senator won the Democratic primary in August with more than 86 percent of the vote over four other Democratic opponents.

Smith assumed office in a 2018 special election to fill the remainder of former Sen. Al Franken’s (D-Minn.) term after he resigned over sexual harassment allegations.