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No announcement on Franken successor Monday

The announcement may not be coming on Monday, but it's still expected soon -- possibly this week.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Mark Dayton's staff says the governor will not be announcing a successor for Sen. Al Franken on Monday.

The governor will be out of town most of the day Monday to co-chair a meeting of the Fargo-Moorhead Area Flood Diversion Task Force at the Fargo Dome, according to a spokesperson. Still, the announcement is expected to come soon, possibly this week.

On Sunday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said it's a very important decision not just on a federal level, but also for Minnesota. A number of bills are up for debate in the state, including tax reform.

"It just gives you some sense of how important this work is," Klobuchar said. "Number one, why I've got to be focused on that for the next few weeks, and not on all the drama. We've had enough drama. And number two, why we want to have someone put in place, no matter who they are, that's competent and can hit the ground running when they become a U.S. senator."

There's a lot of speculation that Dayton will tap Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith to succeed Franken until 2018, when the seat will go on the ballot for voters to decide.

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