To say that I haven’t paid any attention to this race would be an understatement. But I just got a fundraising call on behalf of Al Franken, who is running for Senate in Minnesota. According to this article, Franken was expected to be a well-financed candidate. I can only assume that that hasn’t worked out too well for him; otherwise, he wouldn’t be calling me!
A look at his website shows that Franken is serious: his event page shows that he’s been traveling around the state and plans to attend a number of events over the next couple of weeks. Good for him!
Sorry, Al. We’ve got some races in Virginia that need my meager resources. I’ll be sure to send you some coin if I have any left over after November 🙂
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VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Actually, he’s done OK with his fundraising. He outraised Norm Coleman last reporting period — something like $1.4 mill to $1.1, but don’t hold me to those numbers. I have no idea what their totals are, but in a race that size and with a well-known name, it’s worth casting your net wider and hope to get money from people who are Al Franken fans. It wouldn’t work if it was someone named Al Paige or otherwise.
Republicans are going to fighting HARD for Coleman. It’s still very early to be measuring bankrolls, and now that the polls are tightening they’re going to be throwing money at Norm.
Coleman will suffer facing off with someone who has the name recognition of Al Franken among Democratic circles (I doubt he is that well known except for the more politically savvy among Republicans).
But why even consider donating to Al Franken? I thought the idea was to have Senators represent their states, not others. I imagine you would not be too happy if a lot of money came from out of state supporting the Republican candidate (whoever it may be) in the upcoming Senate election. And while I might not complain about that, it would frustrate me if a bunch of Republicans were supporting candidates in other states, regardless of perceived need of candidates in-state.
You know, it would be nice if it worked out like that. Oh, for a world where the consequences of idiots like James Inhofe and Trent Lott were confined to Oklahoma and Mississippi (to say nothing of old Lauch Faircloth trying to turn DC into his very own plantation).
But no, this is a system where – given the choice – I’d rather have a national majority than two Dems from my state. So it can make sense. And sometimes, defeat of particularly odious people is a moral imperative, no matter where you live (say, Jesse Helms).
Franken can raise a ton of money, no doubt about it. But the problem is that so can Coleman. Republicans don’t have as much money as the Dems (as far as Senate organizations go), so they’re going to have to pick select seats that they REALLY want to keep. IT appears the GOP is picking Coleman as a “Seat to Save.” So Franken is going to need to reach out heavily until the Minnesota Primary is over.
There’s one other serious challenger for the nomination, and a couple minor spoilers, but if Franken survives the primary, you can bet the DSCC will want to spend cash on somebody they see as clearly vulnerable.
The truth is that with the amount of money necessary to run these days (and Brad posted an excellent piece on this very thing) I think it is difficult to raise all the money in your home state. If that were the case, almost none of the Senators would be there. (Or perhaps they would all spend a lot less money.)
I have contributed to candidates outside of VA, mainly because I believe that I have to support those whose ideals match my own. And as a candidate, I certainly received support from out of state.
If it were illegal to raise money from other states, it would be very easy to raise all the money fromone’s own state.
Al Franken, although a comedian, is very plugged in to issues and was a good friend of the late Senator Paul Wellstone (M-MI). When in IA, I had the honor of working with Wellstone who campaigned nonstop for my candidate Bill Bradley.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Al Franken while in IA and talking about issues. I was pleasantly surprised how much he knew about midwest issues and legislation that was debated at the time. I had always enjoyed his books but liked the fact that he spoke “off the cuff” quite well.
My thoughts are these: if you want a candidate in the mold of Paul Wellstone (an outspoken, tireless advocate for healthcare, education, agriculture, labor, et.), then Al Franken is the one to fill his seat (currently this seat is held by Coleman).
I also remember a year or so ago Norm Coleman making the arrogant (and as far as I am concerned- untrue) comment that he “is a better Senator than Wellstone ever was”!?!?!
So Vivian, if you could spare a few dollars maybe next year after the VA elections, I encourage you to send Franken $10-$20 if you can.
While he isn’t in Virginia, I believe he can make a difference and honor the memory of the wonderful late Paul Wellstone!
I also know that Franken supports campaign finance reform so maybe he could even do something about the insane amount of $$ it takes to run for office.
Anon E. Mouse, it would also be very easy to raise all the money needed from one’s own state if we disenfranchised 2/3rds of the electorate in each state and focused on direct voter contact, or killed every other person in a high-density media market so it wouldn’t be as expensive to advertise there, but sometimes we don’t get to make crazy laws to make things easier for politicians. McCain/Feingold is already demonstrating that campaign finance reform has only made the process more negative; because campaigns are limited in ways that 527s aren’t, a larger proportion of money spent in-district is spent by issues groups through those 527s, and because those groups can’t endorse one candidate (or it becomes a contribution to that candidate’s campaign) the only alternative is to smear the opponent.
Sometimes you can be kind of a debbie downer, but I doubt you actually want to complicate the system even more in order to make the campaign environment even more negative than it already is?
anonymous — I was being facetious. I’m sorry that didn’t come through.
I can say one thing about Al Franken — he would make C-SPAN more entertaining!
Anon E. Mouse – ah, thank you for clarifying. Sorry for the misunderstanding, my roommate is also a libertarian and it seems like the crazier an idea is, the more sincerely he means it. 🙂
I think that Franken is a less powerful candidate than it looks. Yes, the republicans will face a very tough year in the Senate because even in red states the democrats are preparing serious candidates. Not only they will have the usual weak incumbents that everyone knows in Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon and Colorado, but serious Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Georgia and Maine(Even if the democrats fail to win in the last group, they will make the republicans spend more money than they are willing for). And I´m not considering the possibility of John Warner´s retirement.
But Franken is divisive figure, and we are talking about a weak senator like Coleman as enemy. And if Franken is candidate, many people outside Minnesota will fund Coleman just to avoid his victory. And Franken will face a difficult primary.
The good people of Minnesota are one of only two states that have elected a cast member from “Predator” to serve as their governor, and even more astoundingly, theirs ran as an independent. I think it goes to show you that Minnesotans will make a point of refusing to adapt to your conventional wisdom if given half a chance.
Not that I’ve much faith in Tom “Fake Cab Drivers Are God” Friedman type prognostication, but on my recent trip to Minnesota, there was a palpable distaste for Coleman in nearly everyone I talked politics with. And this wasn’t just amongst Twin Cities folks, but people who couldn’t have been bothered with politics even a couple of years ago, living up in the middle of nowhere.
(I still have a My Governor Can Beat Up Your Governor t-shirt . . . )