Franken, Al (1951-…), is a former comedian who served as a United States senator from 2009 to 2018. Franken, a Democrat, represented Minnesota. Prior to joining the Senate, Franken had worked as an actor, author, and radio host.
Alan Stuart Franken was born in New York City on May 21, 1951. His family moved to Minnesota when he was a boy. He met Tom Davis in high school, and the two formed a comedy team and writing partnership known as Franken and Davis. Franken received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1973. After college, Franken and Davis wrote for the late-night variety show “Saturday Night Live” and also performed on the program. Franken won several Emmy Awards for his work on the show, and he later worked as a writer and actor in a number of television and film projects. Franken and Davis split up in 1990.
Franken hosted a radio program on Air America Radio beginning in 2004. Franken also has written several books, including Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations (1996); Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right (2003); The Truth (with Jokes) (2005); and Al Franken, Giant of the Senate (2017).
When Franken ran for the U.S. Senate seat in 2008, his Republican opponent, Norm Coleman, charged that the Democrat’s comedy had often been off-color and mean-spirited.
The November 2008 election results showed a difference of only a few hundred votes between the two Senate candidates, and so Minnesota law required a recount. State election officials certified Franken’s victory in January 2009. Later that month, however, Coleman filed a lawsuit contesting the results of the recount. In April, a three-judge panel dismissed Coleman’s argument that the election had been conducted unfairly. The panel recommended that Franken be certified the winner of the election, but Coleman appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court. In June, the Minnesota Supreme Court declared Franken the winner of the Senate contest.
Franken was reelected to the Senate in 2014. As a senator, Franken served on the committees on Energy and Natural Resources; Indian Affairs; the Judiciary; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. In November 2017, a Senate ethics panel opened an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Franken. On December 7, Franken said that he would resign “in the coming weeks” after further allegations surfaced. Most of the allegations dated to the time before Franken was elected senator. Franken resigned his Senate seat on Jan. 3, 2018. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton appointed Tina Smith, the state’s lieutenant governor, to fill Franken’s position.
