# Senator-Governor Klobuchar and the Problem of the Received Wisdom

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/senator-governor-klobuchar-and-the-problem-of-the-received-wisdom/
- Published: 2026-11-06T13:55:30+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T14:39:28+00:00
- Original publisher: Reason (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://reason.com/volokh/2026/11/06/senator-governor-klobuchar-and-the-problem-of-the-received-wisdom/
- Topics: Politics

## Key points

- No law expressly bars Klobuchar from holding both offices.
- Practical demands could still complicate serving in both roles.
- The authors question relying on judge-made rules to require resignation.

## Summary

Amy Klobuchar’s election as Minnesota governor raises a question about whether she must give up her US Senate seat before taking office. The article argues that no law expressly requires her to resign, challenging reports that dual office-holding is prohibited.

The authors say the federal and Minnesota constitutional incompatibility rules do not cover this pairing, and a federal salary law concerns two federal salaries rather than holding both jobs. They also discuss court-made rules on incompatible offices: the roles do not supervise each other, while the practical demands of serving in Minnesota and Washington could pose a question. The Senate might accommodate remote participation, the authors say, and they argue that an unwritten judicial rule should not be treated as a clear legal bar.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.