Al Franken for U.S. Senate

Al Franken for U.S. Senate | Meet Al

This makes me wish I lived in Minnesota instead of Iowa. I think Franken will make a helluva Senator. Go Blue!

"The future belongs to those who are passionate and work hard."

When Al's son went off to Princeton, Al and Franni found themselves empty-nesters and decided to move back to Minnesota. Al's political philosophy had always been informed by his friend and hero, the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, and when he moved home at the end of 2005, he found that the spirit of Wellstonian progressive politics was still very much alive.

Al founded a political action committee, Midwest Values PAC, which raised over $1.1 million for Democrats across Minnesota and around the country. He made more than 50 appearances on behalf of DFLers and local party units in the state in 2006 alone. He was especially inspired by two candidates he met on the campaign trail: Tim Walz, a high school geography teacher whose relentless energy propelled him to an upset victory over a Republican incumbent in the 1st Congressional District (Al stole his "boots" line from Tim); and Amy Klobuchar, whose strong positive message of change helped her follow in the footsteps of Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Paul Wellstone as she was elected to the United States Senate.

Al closed most of his speeches by quoting Paul Wellstone: "The future belongs to those who are passionate and work hard." And the harder he worked for DFLers in 2006, the more people asked him if he would take on the challenge of reclaiming Paul's seat in the Senate. When he decided to accept that challenge, Al spoke about it this way:

Americans have never backed away from challenges. And Minnesotans have always led the way. Our state has sent strong, progressive leaders to Washington—from Hubert Humphrey to Walter Mondale to Paul Wellstone, and now to Amy Klobuchar. Minnesota's public servants might not always look and sound like typical politicians, but they stand by their principles and lead by their values.

That's the kind of leader I think we need more of these days, and that's the kind of Senator I'll be.