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U.S. Senator from Minnesota

Tina Smith

Democrat · Minnesota

Appointed in 2018 after Al Franken's resignation, subsequently elected. Former Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota. Focus on mental health, agriculture, and housing.

Record

Progressive Democrat. Champion of mental health parity legislation. Focus on rural healthcare access, affordable housing, and farm-to-table agricultural policy.

Legislative Record

Recently sponsored bills (8 on record)

  • S.5004 — Cancer Drug Parity Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 15, 2026)
  • S.4871 — Improving Personal Risk Assessments to Prevent Suicide Act (Introduced, Jun 23, 2026)
  • S.4848 — Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jun 22, 2026)
  • S.4832 — SNAP Tribal Food Sovereignty Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jun 18, 2026)
  • S.4785 — FDPIR Tribal Food Sovereignty Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jun 15, 2026)
  • S.4672 — Postal Delivery Accountability Act (Introduced, Jun 3, 2026)
  • S.4483 — Promoting Access to Local Agriculture Act of 2026 (Introduced, May 11, 2026)
    Promoting Access to Local Agriculture Act of 2026 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a streamlined process for farmers and ranchers to provide benefits under certain federal nutrition programs. These programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program…
  • S.869 — CDFI Bond Guarantee Program Improvement Act of 2023 (Introduced, Mar 16, 2023)

Notable votes

  • Voted Nay on S.Res. 817 — S. Res. 817 (Resolution Agreed to, Jul 30, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S.Res. 817 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: S. Res. 817 (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jul 29, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on H.R. 6644 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6644 with an Amendment (SA 5823) (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jun 18, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — S. 2, As Amended (Bill Passed, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S. 2 — Cortez Masto Amdt. No. 5463 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S. 2 — Padilla Amdt. No. 5808 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S. 2 — Gallego Amdt. No. 5813 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S. 2 — Peters Amdt. No. 5763 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)

Recently cosponsored bills (12 on record)

  • S.4879 — Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Health Care Act (Introduced, Jul 30, 2026)
  • S.5185 — A bill to provide for auditing of the Pentagon. (Introduced, Jul 30, 2026)
  • S.5164 — A bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to make improvements relating to the designation of rural emergency hospitals. (Introduced, Jul 29, 2026)
  • S.5108 — A bill to protect and expand nationwide access to assisted reproductive technology, including in vitro fertilization. (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
  • S.5112 — Health Over Wealth Act (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
  • S.5121 — A bill to amend chapter 57 of title 28, United States Code, to provide for a code of conduct for justices and judges of the courts of the United States, establish an Ethics Investigations Counsel, and require disclosure of recusals. (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
  • S.5126 — A bill to amend the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act and the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to further plant cultivar and animal breed research, development, and commercialization, and for other purposes. (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
  • S.1289 — 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Commemorative Coin Act (Introduced, Jul 22, 2026)

Voting analysis

Tina Smith combines two things that do not usually appear together: she is among the Senate's more frequently absent members and among its most party-loyal ones.

5.9%
Roll calls recorded as not voting
220
Roll calls eligible to vote on
13
Recorded as not voting
1.4%
Votes against the Democrat majority
207
Roll calls where a party majority formed
42 of 45
Rank among Senate Democrats, most defections first

Neither figure explains the other. The absence count reports participation and no more; the loyalty figure is computed across the votes she did cast.

A single bill, argued through

Two of her three departures concern the same measure. She voted for an amendment to it from the left of her caucus, which the chamber rejected, and then against the bill itself when the caucus carried it. Supporting a change and then declining the unchanged result is a coherent position rather than two separate breaks. Her third departure is a cloture vote on concurring in a House amendment.

All 3 roll calls where Tina Smith voted against the Senate Democrat majority.
Roll callDateOutcomeTheir vote
S. 1071
Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S. 1071
On the Cloture Motion S. 1071 · roll call 119		Dec 15, 2025Cloture Motion Agreed toNay (party: Yea)
S. 2296
S. 2296, as amended
On Passage of the Bill S. 2296 · roll call 119		Oct 9, 2025Bill PassedNay (party: Yea)
S. 2296
Sanders Amdt. No. 3853
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3853 to S.Amdt. 3748 to S. 2296 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Oct 9, 2025Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)

The Minnesota comparison

Minnesota's two Democratic senators both depart very rarely, and Smith is the rarer of the two. The gap between them is a fraction of a percentage point in absolute terms.

Among the 2 Democrats in the Minnesota delegation, the average rate of voting against the party majority is 1.9%. Tina Smith is below that average at 1.4%.

Committee roles and filings

She is ranking member of a banking subcommittee on housing and community development and of a finance subcommittee on fiscal responsibility. Her bills concentrate on health and tribal food policy: parity for cancer drugs, personal risk assessment to prevent suicide, reauthorisation of a farming training and outreach programme, and separate food sovereignty measures for tribal nutrition assistance and the food distribution programme.

Sponsored bills carry the Congressional Research Service's own subject classification. Tina Smith's cluster into: Native Americans (2), Agriculture and Food (1), Armed Forces and National Security (1), Finance and Financial Sector (1), Government Operations and Politics (1), Health (1).

356
Bills sponsored
2821
Bills cosponsored

Of the 8 most recent of those, 8 currently sit at Introduced.

Tenure

She was appointed to the seat partway through a term and won it afterwards, which places her in the middle band.

First elected in 2018, now serving across 5 terms. Tina Smith falls in the mid cohort.

By the numbers

In the 119th Congress, Tina Smith has 356 bills sponsored, 2821 cosponsored, 8 recent floor votes recorded.

Committee assignments

  • Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Senate Committee on Finance
  • Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
  • Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research
  • Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, and Food Safety
  • Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Rural Development, Energy, and Credit
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Digital Assets
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Economic Policy
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Housing, Transportation, and Community Development (Ranking Member)
  • Senate Committee on Finance: Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth (Ranking Member)
  • Senate Committee on Finance: Health Care

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