Al Franken

MPR Photo/Mark Zdechlik

Election Coverage from MPR

Gore campaigns for Senate candidate Franken

Former Vice President Al Gore says Democrats will do well in next month's election as long as voters consider the results of the past eight years. (10/04/2008)

Franken opposes bailout

DFL Senate candidate Al Franken Thursday sharply criticized the Wall Street bailout the Senate approved Wednesday night. (10/02/2008)

Senate ads distract and discourage

Minnesotans are seeing more Senate campaign ads than ever before, thanks to Republican and Democratic candidates flush with campaign cash. Analysts say most of the ads are negative and that they are not designed to educate voters. (10/01/2008)

Coleman defends bailout comments

Sen. Norm Coleman is explaining comments he made over the weekend about the taxpayer money used to bail out failing financial institutions. (09/23/2008)

Franken urges 'no blank check' in bailout bill

DFL Senate candidate Al Franken says Congress should not give the Bush administration a "blank check" as it considers a $700 billion plan to bail out the financial industry. (09/23/2008)

Opponents say Coleman broke ad disclosure rules

Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman says his re-election campaign has changed a recently released television commercial to ensure it meets federal requirements. Coleman says the mistake is a non-issue. His opponents disagree. (09/12/2008)

Franken, Coleman begin general election 'sprint'

David Wellstone, son of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, today made an appeal for the election of Al Franken to the U.S. Senate. (09/10/2008)

Senate candidate Al Franken holds fundraiser in Denver

DFL Senate candidate Al Franken in Denver at the Democratic National Convention. Franken held a fundraiser at a Denver law firm, but unlike some other candidates he will not be addressing the full convention. (08/25/2008)

MPR poll: Coleman, Franken tied; many undecided

A new Minnesota Public Radio News/Humphrey Institute poll shows Democrat Al Franken in a statistical tie with Republican Norm Coleman in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race. (08/22/2008)

Energy becomes a big issue in Senate race

With the cost of gasoline on voters' minds, U.S. Senate candidates Al Franken and Norm Coleman are talking a lot about their energy plans. (08/17/2008)

Candidate snapshot

Party: DFL

Biography

Date of Birth: 05/21/1951

Place of Birth: New York, N.Y.

Education: BA, General Studies, Harvard University, 1973

Positions Held: Founder, Midwest Values PAC

Business/Professional Experience: Host, The O'Franken Factor, Air America Radio, 2004 -2006; Served as a Fellow with Harvard's Kennedy School of Government at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, 2003; Writer, Saturday Night Live, 1973-1980, 1985-1995

Religion: Jewish

Resources

Official campaign site

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