Franken Time

Minn. Democrat Not Seeking Second Term

Mark Dayton announced today that he's not running for a second term as Minnesota's senator. This throws the seat open to a diverse field of...

Wait, who might run on the Democratic side? It's clear Rep. Mark Kennedy wants the G.O.P. nomination, but the bench for the Democrats is pretty thin in Minnesota right now. They've got one prominent statewide official, headline-grabbing Attorney General Mike Hatch, who didn't jump at the chance to nab the seat in 2002 when Paul Wellstone died. Their longest-serving leader in the state legislature, Roger Moe, lost a bid for governor in 2002 and disappeared. They've got R.T. Rybak, the mayor of Minneapolis, but the state as a whole has the sort of love-hate relationship with the Twin Cities typical of such situations, and particularly with Minneapolis, viewed as a den of iniquity to counter St. Paul's genteel image.

Which is why I think Al Franken should announce tomorrow that he's moving home to St. Louis Park to run for the seat. He's smart, he's funny, and he has a genuine love for Minnesota that will show through everywhere he goes during the campaign. And if he loses to Kennedy, he can run again in two years for Minnesota's Jewish seat, currently occupied by Republican Norm Coleman after being held by Democrat Paul Wellstone for 12 years and Republican Rudy Boschwitz for another 12.

You may scoff at the notion of Franken running for, and becoming, a senator. But does anyone have a better candidate? I'm betting Franken's name is being batted about by tomorrow morning's edition of the Star Tribune.