Governor Mark Dayton announced this morning that Tina Smith will be his running mate as Lieutenant Governor on the 2014 ballot. Smith replaces current Lieutenant Governor Yvonne Prettner Solon who recently announced that she would not seek another term.

Smith, who has been Dayton’s chief of staff since he got elected in 2010, has extensive public and private sector experience. She attended Stanford University and has an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. She has worked in marketing for General Mills and founded her own marketing and communications firm. She has served in leadership positions for Planned Parenthood and spent four years as Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak’s chief of staff.

Smith will leave the chief of staff job Feb. 10. Dayton promoted deputy chief of staff Jaime Tincher to take Smith's place.