The Latest: Quiet organizer, late to politics

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Latest on Lt. Gov. Tina Smith (all times local):11:45 a.m.

The woman who will be Minnesota's next U.S. senator is a largely behind-the-scenes player who came to elected office late in her career and passed up a major shot at power just a few months ago.

Tina Smith isn't passing a second time. Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday named his trusted lieutenant governor and former chief of staff to fill fellow Democrat Al Franken's Senate seat until a special election next November.

Smith didn't take a straight line to politics. The New Mexico native came to Minnesota three decades ago for a marketing job.

She gradually moved into politics and ran a handful of statewide campaigns for Democrats.