Al Franken wins Minn. Democratic primary for Senate seat

When Al Franken announced his intention to run for a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota last year, the one-time Saturday Night Live star offered assurances to his prospective constituents that the author of books like Lies (And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them) was in the race for real.

Even then, the former professional smartass already sounded like a politician: “I want you to know,” he said at the time, “nothing means more to me than making government work better for the working families of this state, and over the next 20 months, I look forward to proving to you that I take these issues seriously.”

Apparently, they bought it. Franken won more than 60 percent of the vote in the primary this week to clinch his spot on the Democratic ticket, which means he will compete against the Republican incumbent, Norm Coleman, for the seat this fall.

Franken now faces the challenges of all entertainers-turned-politicians, who must make the long, well-documented history of their former careers secondary to their messages as political candidates. That’s not always easy to do, but Minnesota is, after all, the state that had four years of a former professional wrestler as governor. At least Franken doesn't have stuff like this lurking around online:



Related links:
AlFranken.com: Al Franken for Senate
New York Times: Al Franken, Seriously So
Catching Up With... Dar Williams

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