Al Franken

MPR Photo/Mark Zdechlik

Election Coverage from MPR

U.S. Senate candidates meet for final debate

U.S. Senate candidates Dean Barkley, Norm Coleman and Al Franken met for a fifth and final debate Sunday night at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. (11/02/2008)

Senate candidates meet for last debate

Months of tension between U.S. Senate candidates Norm Coleman and Al Franken spilled out in their last debate with the Republican and Democrat trading heated accusations about the allegations against Coleman in a lawsuit. (11/02/2008)

Minn. Senate candidates prepare for final debate

The three major party candidates for U.S. Senate will meet in their final debate tonight at the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. (11/01/2008)

Minnesota Senate race goes negative. Again

Republican Sen. Norm Coleman released a TV ad Saturday accusing his DFL challenger Al Franken of engineering a last minute attack on him and his family. (11/01/2008)

Senate candidates make final push into the weekend

In the final weekend before Election Day, U.S. Senate candidates respond to new allegations against Sen. Coleman and make their final case to the voters. (10/31/2008)

Business, labor leaders anxiously watch Senate race

Labor leaders and business groups across the country will be closely watching the results of Minnesota's Senate race on Tuesday night. (10/31/2008)

Bill Clinton presses Minn. to elect Franken

Former President Bill Clinton is telling Minnesota Democrats, it's not enough to elect Barack Obama for president -- that they must also send DFLer Al Franken to the Senate. (10/31/2008)

MPR poll: Senate race still up for grabs

A new MPR News/University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute poll shows the race between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and his DFL challenger Al Franken remains very close, and Independent Dean Barkley is still running third. (10/31/2008)

Coleman camp files complaint over Franken ad

Sen. Norm Coleman's re-election campaign has filed a legal complaint over an ad aired by Democratic challenger Al Franken, even though a ruling won't occur until well after Tuesday's election. (10/30/2008)

Franken speaks on 'An economy that works for the middle class'

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken spoke recently at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute as part of a series put on by the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance. He talk was titled, "An economy that works for the middle class." (10/29/2008)

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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