Tina Smith

And then everything that has happened this year has certainly not made me wonder whether I made the right decision.

I mean, I had, you know, this horrible political assassination of my dear friend, Melissa Hortman, the Speaker of the Emerita of the Minnesota House.

We had the

shooting of the Annunciation School, which is literally 10 blocks from where I live.

And so the reality of these political attacks, and of course, in this moment, fueled by the President of the United States, who just a couple of weeks ago said that two of my colleagues and four members of the House of Representatives should be tried for treason and executed.

Of course, these things all have impact

But, you know, there was another part of it for me, which is that I'm going to—I'm, what is my, 68, roughly?

I will be 68 next year.

Pretty young for a Democratic senator.

Yes, it is.

And, you know, I am not burdened by the belief that I am the only one who can do this job.

I feel really confident in the bench that is there in Minnesota to carry on.

And I'm actually quite invigorated by making space for those leaders to step in.

That's right.

I don't think it's gone either.

And I haven't given up hope on that, Joe.

I believe that it's still there.

I mean, this is what Mitch McConnell said.

Like, my purpose is to beat Obama.

And gradually, the partisanship just ramped up.