So it begins:
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) on Thursday said both Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) should resign in order for Congress to set an example in its response to sexual misconduct allegations.
“These are credible allegations, and I believe these women. Congress should set the example for all industries and be a safe place for women to work,” Ryan tweeted.
Several lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Ohio), on Thursday called for Conyers to resign following reports of multiple women who described Conyers making unwanted sexual advances.
Former DSCC Executive Director, Guy Cecil, is also joining Crowley’s call:
We’ll see what happens next. If Franken is to resign, Governo Mark Dayton (D.. MN) would pick Franken’s replacement and there is already some big names being floated:
It just so happens that Minnesota has a lot of Democratic women who could make for viable Franken replacements – at least six, depending on who you ask.
One is Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith. Another is Attorney General Lori Swanson. A third is State Auditor Rebecca Otto. A fourth is state House Minority Leader Melissa Hortman. A fifth is Rep. Betty McCollum. And a sixth is former state House Majority Leader Erin Murphy.
Any or all of these women seem as though they'd be a smart choice for Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, should he have to appoint someone to take over from Franken. While having two X chromosomes is no inoculation against corruption or scandal, it is a hint that the candidates for Franken's replacement probably won't be forcibly tonguing fellow participants in USO tours. And several of these ladies have been elected statewide, as opposed to within just the liberal enclave of Minneapolis. According to conservative blogger, commentator and Minnesotan Ed Morrissey, for these reasons Smith, Swanson and Otto in particular, "would have an easier time running statewide ... plus the circumstances of the scandal would probably push Dayton to look for a woman in Franken's place."
Yet it's far from clear that any or all of these women would even want the job.
Otto and Murphy are running to succeed Dayton, and Swanson is anticipated to do the same. Plans can of course change, but for some people, there's a dispositional aversion to serving as a U.S. senator – just ask former Virginia governor and current U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, who seems to have only found a way to regard the job as "tolerable" well into his second term in office.
On spec, though, the figures who have won statewide before look more saleable, at least thinking in terms of who can hold the Franken seat going forward, should he vacate it. That means Swanson, Otto or Smith.
Swanson and Otto both won their 2014 races with 52 percent of the vote – hardly stunning numbers, but marginally better than Smith's (as a part of the Dayton ticket). It's also worth remembering those results were obtained in a year where Republicans overperformed and drove Democratic numbers down nationally.
I’m for Lori Swanson but we’ll see. Stay tuned.