THE HILL: Al Franken Resignation Could Upend Minnesota Races.

Sen. Al Franken’s (D-Minn.) possible resignation on Thursday could set off a scramble among potential candidates to fill his seat while putting both Senate seats in the state up for reelection in 2018.

Franken’s Democratic colleagues rapidly pulled support from him on Wednesday, as more than half of the Senate Democratic caucus — led by a stream of successive statements seemingly coordinated by half a dozen female senators — called on Franken to resign in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations.

Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Thomas Perez joined that chorus, upping speculation that Franken will step aside on Thursday, when he’s slated to make an announcement.

State law dictates that Minnesota’s governor, Democrat Mark Dayton, must appoint a candidate who will serve until the 2018 elections. At that point, there’d be a special election to determine who would serve the final two years of Franken’s term before another election in 2020 for a full six-year term.

That outcome would roil what’s already slated to be a raucous election year for Minnesota politics. Next year, the state will see competitive elections for governor, attorney general and two state Senate seats, as well as a high-profile battle for control of the state House.

Hmm. National Dems must not be too worried about the seat or they wouldn’t have suddenly under-bussed Franken. But they could be wrong. I did notice that the other Senator from Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar, wasn’t so quick to pile on, though.