Franken's challenge

Posted at 3:10 PM on July 14, 2008 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

"I'm just an average woman who feels passionate about our
country and our government. I don't have a lot of
money and I certainly haven't had the liberty or the freedom to not
work for the last two years, but I still would be an excellent
senator." -- Priscilla Lord Faris

But can she win? She's an unknown, with little experience and her announcement today that she's running for the U.S. Senate seems particularly fertilized with a frustration with Al Franken, whose candidacy is not energizing the state, at the moment. His poll numbers aren't budging.

"I've been watching the polls and kind of wondering how this race was going to go and one of the issues for us was where was he going to be in the polls on the 15th?" she told MPR. "If he's ahead great. If he's behind. I don't want to sit and wait and wish or hope."

This is a shot across the Franken bow.

Franken's campaign has been puzzling. Polls show energy now tops the list of issues on the mind of voters. So what does a blast of TV commercials for Franken take on this week: Ex-politicians as lobbyists. True, he ties lobbying in with the price of gasoline, but that's not exactly an energy policy.

Today, on the day Sen. Norm Coleman filed his papers, the Franken campaign put out this statement:

"Six years ago, Norm Coleman was given the chance to go to work for the people of Minnesota. Instead, he sold out to the special interests and voted with George W. Bush nearly 90% of the time - and Minnesotans are paying the price. We can't afford to stay the course in Iraq, in our energy policy, or with this economy: it's time for a change."

The words of Al Franken? Nope. They're the words of Andy Barr, Franken's communications director.

The campaign had no comment on Lord Faris' candidacy.

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Comments (5)

It will be interesting to see if DFL primary voters enthusiastically agree with the party activists that endorsed Franken on the 1st ballot. If Ms Faris does well in the primary, Franken will be in a tough spot, come Nov...

Posted by bsimon | July 14, 2008 4:40 PM

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Just got a rummor that franken comes in 3rd in latest poll with Jesse in it.

Posted by Brian Hanf | July 14, 2008 4:58 PM

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KSTP at 5pm said:
3 way with jesse +/-3.9:
Coleman 43, Franken 27 Ventura 26

Posted by brian hanf | July 14, 2008 5:11 PM

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If he's got to spend money in a primary fight, it'd be very difficult for him to do well in the general election.

Posted by Bob Collins | July 14, 2008 5:11 PM

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Franken was already in a tough spot and it will be difficult for him to win, primary fight or not. I heard a Republican analyst on Midday a few weeks back say something to the effect that the Republicans and the Coleman campaign are grateful to the DFL for not only looking within the state, but actually searching New York and Hollywood for a candidate with the most possible baggage. I suspect that a number of everyday DFL voters agree, with frustration, and that's showing up in the poles.

Posted by Alison | July 15, 2008 7:52 AM

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