Al Franken    
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 Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States Senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He became well known in the 1970s and 1980s as a staff writer and performer on the television comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL). After decades as a comedic actor and writer, he became a prominent liberal political activist, hosting The Al Franken Show on Air America Radio.

Franken was first elected to the United States Senate in 2008 as the nominee of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL, an affiliate of the Democratic Party), defeating incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman by 312 votes out of nearly three million cast (a margin of less than 0.01%). He won reelection in 2014 with 53.2% of the vote over Republican challenger Mike McFadden. Franken resigned on January 2, 2018, after several allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him.

In 2013 Franken received the Stewart B. McKinney Award for his work fighting homelessness.[140]

The National Journal reported in 2013 that Franken supports the National Security Agency's data mining programs, believing they have saved lives, and that "I can assure you, this is not about spying on the American people."[102]

When Franken declared his intention to seek reelection in 2014,[103] his seat was thought to be a top target for the Republicans because of his very slim margin of victory in the previous election. But Politico reported that his high approval rating, his large campaign fund, and the Republicans' struggle to find a top-tier candidate meant he was a "heavy favorite" to win reelection,[104] and Franken won the race comfortably.

The Associated Press noted that contrary to expectations, Franken did not seek out the media spotlight: "He rarely talks to the Washington press corps, has shed his comedic persona and focused on policy, working to be taken seriously."[105] In interviews he expressed his desire to be known for a focus on constituency work, keeping his head down, and working hard.[87][106]

Franken was an effective fundraiser for the Democrats.[107][108][109] By late 2015, his political action committee had raised more than $5 million in donations.[109] In 2016, his PAC raised $3.3 million.[108][110] According to The Star Tribune, Franken was able to "draw crowds and donations across the country".[107]

Franken condemned the genocide of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar and called for a stronger response to the crisis.[111]

Committee assignments

On December 7, 2017, Franken announced his intention to resign his Senate seat.[133] He called some of the accusations “simply not true” and said he remembered others “very differently.”[134] In his resignation speech he made comparisons to Republican politicians, saying he was "aware of the irony" that President Trump remained in office despite the comments Trump made in the Access Hollywood tape released a month before his election, and that the Republican Party supported Roy Moore's Senate campaign despite the many allegations of harassment and molestation against Moore.[135] Franken resigned on January 2, 2018, and Minnesota governor Mark Dayton appointed the lieutenant governor, Tina Smith, to Franken’s seat until a special election in November 2018, which Smith won.[136]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Franken






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