ST. PAUL, Minn.— Poltics is complicated: State Senator Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, is out as Senate president but not really. The Senate’s majority Republicans elected Chisholm Dave Tomassoni, D-Chisholm, to serve temporarily as Senate president in place of Miller. The move was designed to protect the one-vote GOP majority in the Senate in case President-elect Joe Biden puts U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar into a cabinet post and if Governor Tim Walz then appoints Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan to fill Klobuchar’s seat. If all those ifs happened, the Minnesota Senate president would become the lieutenant governor, triggering a special election. Republicans don’t want to risk losing their majority if Democrats were to win the special election. The short of it all, as Miller glossed over details in a statement: “While I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue serving as president of the Minnesota Senate during the next legislative session, today I am excited to support my friend and colleague, Senator David Tomassoni, with this honor. He has had a long and distinguished career representing northern Minnesota communities, and I’m confident he will serve the office, the Senate, and Minnesotans with dignity and respect.”
Miller. Are you sure, dear reader, that you want to know all this?