Al Franken

MPR Photo/Mark Zdechlik

Election Coverage from MPR

Dean Barkley to release first TV ad

Independence Party U.S. Senate candidate Dean Barkley will release his first television ad this week. (10/29/2008)

Coleman, Franken get a little help from their friends

With a week to go until Election Day, two of the major party candidates running for U.S. Senate got some help from popular politicians who aren't on the ballot this year. (10/28/2008)

Bill Clinton coming to Minn. for DFL

Former President Bill Clinton will make a campaign stop in Minnesota later this week. (10/28/2008)

GOP targets Franken in mailer; Coleman condemns it

National Republicans are attacking Democrat Al Franken in a new pamphlet that looks like a comic book but discusses pornography and rape. (10/27/2008)

Minn. Senate candidates mix it up in TV debate

The leading candidates for Minnesota's U.S. Senate seat colored their statewide televised debate with spirited give-and-take over tax cuts, guns and partisanship. (10/24/2008)

Franken leads Coleman in Senate poll

A new poll in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race shows Democrat Al Franken with a 6-point lead over Republican Norm Coleman, just outside the poll's margin of error. (10/23/2008)

Iron Range gives Clinton warm welcome

The traditionally DFL Iron Range welcomed Hillary Clinton last night, in a campaign rally for Democrat Presidential candidate Barack Obama. (10/22/2008)

Clinton urges Minn. Democrats to vote Franken

Senator Hillary Clinton told a wildly enthusiastic crowd in Minneapolis, Al Franken could be the 60th vote in the Senate that would allow Democrats to block Republican filibusters. (10/21/2008)

Senate candidates disagree on the economy

Minnesota's three major party U.S. Senate candidates are talking a lot about the economy as they campaign. (10/20/2008)

Coleman defends support for war at Senate debate

Minnesota's three major party U.S. Senate candidates have just two more debates before the election. During last night's third debate held in Duluth, the candidates, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, Democrat Al Franken and Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley, engaged in a spirited discussion about campaign finance and ethics. (10/16/2008)

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

Tools

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