Michelle Fischbach

Michelle Louise Helene Fischbach (born November 3, 1965) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 49th lieutenant governor of Minnesota, from 2018 to 2019. She was the first female president of the Minnesota Senate. A Republican, she was first elected to the state senate in 1996, where she represented portions of Benton County and Stearns County. In January 2018, as president of the Senate, Fischbach automatically became lieutenant governor following the resignation of Tina Smith. In 2020, she became the Republican nominee for Minnesota's 7th congressional district, challenging longtime U.S. Representative Collin Peterson.

Fischbach grew up in Woodbury, Minnesota. After graduating from Woodbury High School, she attended the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph from 1984 to 1986 and, later, St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, where she received a B.A. in political science and economics in 1989. She was the first woman elected to the Paynesville City Council, serving from 1995 to 1996. In 2011, Fischbach graduated with a J.D. from William Mitchell School of Law in Saint Paul.

Fischbach was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1996. She was elected in a special election held after the resignation of DFL Senator Joe Bertram, who had recently pled guilty to shoplifting. Fischbach was reelected months later in the 1996 general election, as well as in 2000, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012, and 2016. She served as an assistant minority leader from 2001 to 2002 and from 2007 to 2008, and as a Deputy Minority Leader from 2009 to 2010. Fischbach also served as the chair of the Senate's Higher Education Committee.

In 2011, following an election where Senate Republicans won a majority for the first time since party designation, Fischbach was elected by her colleagues to serve as the state's first female President of the Senate, holding the post from January 2011 through January 2013. After the Republicans regained a majority following the 2016 election, Fischbach was again elected to be president of the Senate on January 3, 2017.

Succession

Fischbach became the 49th Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota in January 2018 when Tina Smith resigned to accept an appointment to the United States Senate. Smith was appointed by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton to replace Al Franken, who resigned the seat over allegations of sexual harassment. Fischbach acknowledged having ascended to the role, but maintained she would remain in the Senate and referred to herself as "acting" lieutenant governor.

Constitutional dispute

Fischbach said she intended to serve as lieutenant governor while retaining her senate seat, but her legal ability to do so was questioned. Fischbach noted a memo from the senate's nonpartisan counsel, which cited an 1898 Minnesota Supreme Court decision, as legal precedent for her to serve in both offices. In an interview, she asserted the lieutenant governor's duties are largely ceremonial and she would have no problem fulfilling the roles of both offices. She declined the lieutenant governor's salary, opting to receive only the pay of a state senator. An advisory opinion issued by the state's attorney general disputed Fischbach's legal ability to serve in both offices at once, citing a 1972 constitutional amendment and historical precedents, such as Alec Olson's resignation as state senator upon becoming lieutenant governor in 1976. (The Minnesota Constitution specifies "No senator or representative shall hold any other office under the authority of the United States or the state of Minnesota, except that of postmaster or of notary public.")

The potential outcomes were seen as having potentially significant ramifications on Minnesota politics, as Republicans held only a two-vote majority in the state senate. In December 2017, to avoid a potential tie should Fischbach be forced to resign her senate seat, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka and House Speaker Kurt Daudt sent a letter to Governor Dayton requesting a special legislative session to temporarily elect a Democratic president of the senate. Dayton and legislative Democrats immediately rejected the idea, with Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk indicating he would file a lawsuit to attempt to force Fischbach out of the senate should she attempt to serve in both offices, saying the senate's "balance of power [...] will be up for grabs."

In January 2018, a constituent and local Democratic Party activist filed a lawsuit against Fischbach, asking a Ramsey County District Court judge to remove her from the state senate. In February 2018, a judge dismissed the suit, ruling it had been prematurely filed.

On May 25, 2018, Fischbach resigned from the Senate and was sworn in as lieutenant governor.

Campaign

In May 2018, former Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty announced Fischbach as his lieutenant governor pick in his comeback bid for a third term. Pawlenty and Fischbach were defeated in the Republican primary by Jeff Johnson and Donna Bergstrom.

Fischbach was succeeded as lieutenant governor by Democrat Peggy Flanagan, running mate of Tim Walz, who was sworn in on January 7, 2019.

On September 3, 2019, Fischbach announced she is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat Collin Peterson for Minnesota's seventh congressional district.She pledged to back Donald Trump on trade and other issues.

Fischbach is Roman Catholic. She met her husband, Scott, while working on a campaign for former U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz. The two started dating while she was attending St. Cloud State University. They eventually moved to Paynesville where they still live. Fischbach's husband has served as executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life since 2001. The couple has two grown children and several grandchildren.

2020