Al Franken
| Al Franken | ||
 | ||
| U.S. Senate, Minnesota | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| July 7, 2009-Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 3, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 4 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Predecessor | Norm Coleman (R) | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $174,000/year | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| First elected | November 4, 2008 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Campaign $ | $22,502,124 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | Harvard University | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | May 31, 1951 | |
| Place of birth | New York NY | |
| Profession | Writer, Radio Host | |
| Net worth | $8,429,528 | |
| Religion | Jewish | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Franken is a "moderate Democratic follower".[1]
Biography
Franken born in 1951 in New York, NY, but was raised in St. Louis Park, MN. He earned his B.A. from the Harvard University in 1973 and went on to become a screenwriter for Saturday Night Live. Prior to his political career, Franken had also hosted his own national radio show and written several New York Times-bestselling books.[2]
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of Franken's professional and political career:
- Screenwriter, Author
- Radio Host The Al Franken Show, 2004-2007
- U.S. Senate, 2009-Present
Committee assignments
U.S. Senate
2013-2014
Franken serves on the following Senate committees[3]:
- United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
- Subcommittee on Water and Power
- Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining
- Subcommittee on Energy
- United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
- Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
- Subcommittee on Children and Families
- United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
- United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
- Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law Chair
- Subcommittee on The Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights
- Bankruptcy and the Courts subcommittee
- Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights subcommittee
2011-2012
Franken served on the following Senate committees[4]:
- Indian Affairs Committee
- Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
- Judiciary Committee
Issues
Judiciary Committee
Senator Franken was first appointed to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary shortly after he was sworn into the US Senate in June of 2009.[5]
Senator Franken serves on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on Administrative Oversight and the Courts, Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, and Human Rights and the Law.[6]
Fiscal Cliff
Franken voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89/8 vote on January 1, 2013.[7]
Elections
2008
On November 4, 2008, Franken won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Norm Coleman, Dean Barkley (I), Charles Aldrich (L), James Niemackl (C), Michael Cavlan (I, Write-In), and Anthony Keith Price (I, Write-In) in the general election. He won election after a lengthy hand recount that did not declare him the winner until after June of 2009.[6][8]
| U.S. Senate General Election, Minnesota, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Al Franken |
42% | 1,212,629 | |
| Republican | Norm Coleman Incumbent | 42% | 1,212,317 | |
| Independent | Dean Barkley | 15.2% | 437,505 | |
| Liberterian | Charles Aldrich | 0.5% | 13,923 | |
| Constitution | James Niemackl | 0.3% | 8,907 | |
| Independent | Michael Cavlan | 0% | 13 | |
| Independent | Anthony Keith Price | 0% | 12 | |
| Independent | Write-In | 0.1% | 2,340 | |
| Total Votes | 2,887,646 | |||
Campaign donors
Comprehensive donor information for Franken is available dating back to 2008. Based on available campaign finance records, Franken raised a total of $22,502,124 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 24, 2013.[9]
| Al Franken's Campaign Contribution History | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| 2012 | U.S. Senate (Minnesota) |  |
$22,502,124 | |
| Grand Total Raised | $22,502,124 | |||
Analysis
Lifetime voting record
According to the website GovTrack, Franken missed 2 of 1,061 roll call votes from Jul 2009 to Apr 2013, which is 0.2% of votes during that period. This is better than the median of 1.7% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. [10]
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Franken paid his congressional staff a total of $2,780,125 in 2011. He ranked 31st on the list of the lowest paid Democratic Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranked 25th overall of the lowest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Minnesota ranked 46th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[11]
Net worth
2011
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Franken's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $4,200,057 and $12,659,000. This averages to $8,429,528, which is a decrease of 3.64% since 2010. This is lower than the $20,795,450 average net worth for Democratic senators in 2011. [12]
2010
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Franken's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $4,554,050 and $12,941,000. That averages to $8,747,525, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Senators in 2010 of $19,383,524.[13]
National Journal vote ratings
- See also: National Journal vote ratings
Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members, in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.
2012
According to the data released in 2013, Franken was ranked the 13th most liberal senator during 2012.[14]
2011
According to the data released in 2012, Al Franken was ranked the 13th most liberal senator during 2011.[15]
Percentage voting with party
November 2011
The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Al Franken voted with the Democratic Party 96.0% of the time, which ranked 8th among the 51 Senate Democratic members in November 2011.[16]
Personal
Franken has been married to his wife, Frannie, since 1977. The couple has two grown children.[2]
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "Al + Franken + Minnesota + Senate"
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
Al Franken News Feed
- Rep. Paulsen says he won't run for Senate in Minnesota - The Hill (blog)
- Al Franken's financial reform proposal: A sampling of the reaction - MSNBC
- Erik Paulsen: I Won't Run for Al Franken's U.S. Senate Seat or MN Governor in ... - Patch.com
- Klobuchar hopeful on immigration before Obama dinner - USA TODAY
- Senate poised to pass online sales tax bill - Minnesota Public Radio
- Wealthy business exec will challenge Senator Franken in MN - American Thinker (blog)
- Hollywood donors line up to assist Al Franken's Senate reelection bid - The Hill (blog)
- Sen. Al Franken produces 'Hotdish' cookbook - Washington Examiner
- Franken: $1.6 Million Available For Community Health Clinics - CBS Local
- Sen. Franken Releases Recipe Book from Third Annual Minnesota ... - Northland's NewsCenter
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External links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial:
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Legislation:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Works by or about:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
- Column archive at The Huffington Post
References
- ↑ Gov Track "Al Franken," Accessed March 3, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Official Senate Site "About Al," Accessed November 2, 2011
- ↑ Congressional Quarterly "Senate Committee List" Accessed January 22, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Senate Official Website "Committee Assignments," Accessed November 2, 2011
- ↑ "Senate Judiciary" List of previous members
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Senator Al Franken" Official Biography
- ↑ U.S. Senate "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
- ↑ Open Secrets "Donor history for Al Franken" April 2013
- ↑ GovTrack, "Al Franken" Accessed April 2013
- ↑ "Al Franken"
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Franken, (D-Minnesota), 2011"
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Franken, (D-Minnesota), 2010"
- ↑ National Journal, "TABLE: House Liberal Scores by Issue Area," February 26, 2013
- ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
- ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Norm Coleman |
U.S. Senate - Minnesota 2009-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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