DFL minds bubbling about ‘08 Senate race

12/18/2006

It's hot stove league season in politics, and DFLers are talking about whom to put up against GOP's Norm Coleman.


By Dane Smith, Star Tribune
Last update: December 17, 2006 – 10:20 PM


The favorite parlor game of political insiders has begun.


Fresh off sweeping victories in November, with a bumper crop of new faces, rising stars and old standbys to consider, Minnesota DFL leaders and activists already are speculating about prospective candidates for the 2008 race against Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman.


Calls to the more frequently mentioned figures suggest that two relatively big names are seriously considering a run: entertainer and political commentator Al Franken and trial attorney Mike Ciresi.


But neither is considered unbeatable, and the field is expected to grow throughout 2007.


DFL Party Chair Brian Melendez said that Democrats view Coleman as vulnerable, and that "quite a few people" are likely to consider running.


Here's a quick scouting report on the early mentionables, sorted by their perceived interest in the race, and gathered from conversations with DFL leaders and other veteran observers.


NOT SO COY


Al Franken. Comedian, author and provocateur, Franken has been talking up a candidacy for more than a year. Party types say he has won enormous goodwill by raising more than a million dollars for state DFL units and candidates in the past year through his Midwest Values political action committee. He has spent countless hours building personal contacts at local party unit bean feeds.


Franken said recently that he has discussed the race with his family and "nobody has an objection." He says it's more likely than not that he'll run. "And if I do this, I'll do it soon," he said.


Big questions remain for him, he acknowledges. After decades of making people laugh with outrageous satire and raunchy monologues, can Franken be taken seriously by mainstream voters? Are Minnesota voters more or less reluctant to take a chance on an offbeat candidate after their experience with Gov. Jesse Ventura? Can he overcome GOP typecasting as a liberal show-business carpetbagger?


Franken said DFL activists who have gotten to know him, and "people who actually listen to my show know I am serious."


Mike Ciresi. One of the state's most famous and wealthiest trial lawyers, the slayer of Big Tobacco in the state's landmark tobacco lawsuit, he is also very well-known in DFL circles. He ran a strong campaign in the 2000 DFL Senate primary and won a lot of friends in his contest for party endorsement.


"I'm going to take a very hard look and make a very hard decision," Ciresi said, suggesting he would decide sooner rather than later. "Norm [Coleman] will be a formidable adversary. He's been around the block. But I do think people are looking for something different."


Like Franken, Ciresi has been a frequent DFL contributor. He might be seen as a safer, more conventional alternative.


SOMEWHAT COY


Ted Mondale. The name is still household quality, but it didn't get him many votes in the 1998 gubernatorial primary. Since then he has picked up policy credentials and was Metropolitan Council chairman under Ventura. He says he has "kept my contacts fresh." Although totally engaged in his software services business, Mondale says he is definitely interested in running for office again and is "not ruling anything out."


Susan Gaertner. The Ramsey County attorney says she has "gotten some calls" from folks who say that, as the chief prosecutor in the state's second-largest county, she has a résumé that is a lot like U.S. Sen.-elect Amy Klobuchar's. Gaertner is viewed as something of a moderate and has had conflicts with liberal party activists. She's "not closing the door on anything," but adds that her experience and talents might be more suitable for a gubernatorial race.


Dean Johnson. The former Minnesota Senate majority leader was defeated in November in his west-central district after almost 30 years in the Legislature. He would carry baggage as a result of his conflict with state Supreme Court justices over whether they had improper communications. But Johnson might be a better candidate statewide than in Willmar, and he told reporters last month that he hadn't ruled out a U.S. Senate run.


State Sen. Becky Lourey. She's lost in two bids for her party's gubernatorial nomination, but Lourey always has had strong support in the liberal peace-and-justice wing of the party and says she has been told by some that her "interests and experience are more appropriate for a Senate race," which allows for "more passion" on issues. A candidacy is not something she is planning, but it is "in the back of my mind," Lourey said.


DEFINITELY COY


Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak. The second-term mayor of the state's largest city, a DFL stronghold, says that he has "done nothing to encourage speculation" about a candidacy and that he is "completely focused" on being mayor. He says he is encouraging Franken "and many other people" to run.


St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. He's considered something of a moderate and perhaps more appealing statewide than many other urban DFLers. He says he is amused to hear people talk about the possibility of a Coleman vs. Coleman race (the two are not related) between current and former St. Paul mayors. But the current Mayor Coleman says he has "no interest."


Tammy Lee. A former DFLer, she ran for Congress in the Fifth District under the Independence Party label and impressed some politicos with her energy and creativity. She says Republicans and DFLers have encouraged her to join their parties and seek higher office, but says she is definitely not "party shopping." And, she said, "when you come out of a grueling campaign, it's tough to think about a statewide race."


U.S. Rep.-elect Tim Walz. It might seem far-fetched for a freshman House member to aspire to the Senate, but former U.S. Sen. Rod Grams made just that jump in 1994. And Walz by all accounts is becoming something of a media star in the freshman class. Party leaders fear that they would lose his southeastern district if Walz doesn't stay put, and Walz himself says that the Senate "never crossed my mind," although he is "flattered."


Judi Dutcher. The former state auditor and unsuccessful lieutenant-governor candidate is "not even remotely considering it" but also says "everybody and their mother has been talking to me about it."


State Sen. Steve Kelley. He lost a Senate endorsement contest in 2000, a gubernatorial endorsement contest this year and also a primary contest as an endorsed candidate for attorney general. But people have continued to ask him to consider another Senate run, and he says that "under the right circumstances, I'd certainly think about it."

U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum. Frequently mentioned, but her chief of staff, Bill Harper, said McCollum is "100 percent committed to staying in the House."