The Al Franken Senate Race

• Al Franken is currently representing the state of Minnesota in the United States Senate. Prior to being elected to the U.S. Senate, this Democrat was a well known writer, performer, and political commentator. He is widely known for his role on Saturday Night Live, which he participated in during its initial years. Senator Franken worked on Saturday Night Live for an extended period of time, as both a performer and a writer for the show. After he left Saturday Night Live, Franken began to act in additional television shows and movies, as well as write for television and movie productions. Subsequently, he wrote five internationally recognized books, and he acted as a political commentator and a host on radio shows. In 2008, All Franken entered the Minnesota Senate race, which resulted in a Senate election that became nationally recognized.
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• The Al Franken Senate race is widely known for a number of reasons. Senator Al Franken won the Minnesota Senate election by only 312 votes, making it an unusually close election. However, the Al Franken Senate race gained notoriety due to the controversy and debate that surrounded the election. Due to the abnormally close margin, the ballots had to be manually recounted. Republican Norm Coleman, who was running against Senator Al Franken, was not satisfied with the results of the recount, and contested the election. Coleman's petition was dismissed and it was determined that Al Franken was victorious in the 2008 Minnesota Senate election. However, Coleman decided to appeal the decision by petitioning the Supreme Court of Minnesota. His appeal was rejected, and Al Franken was officially named a Senator in July 2009.

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