Aug 14, 2008 5:45 pm US/Central
Lord Faris Opposes Franken As 'Minnesota Option'
(WCCO)
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On Thursday, Lord Faris hit the campaign trail at the Steele County Fair.
CBS
For the U.S. Senate campaign in Minnesota, the harsh words have been mostly between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken. But there's another candidate out there challenging Franken, and Priscilla Lord Faris is beginning to make waves.
On Thursday, Lord Faris hit the campaign trail at the Steele County Fair. For this DFL candidate, it's not just that Franken was born in New York, it's also the tax problems, jokes and sexually explicit magazine satire he's written.
"These are comments that are hurtful, that I know he thought was satirical. But Minnesotans don't take it that way. And when you are out of touch with Minnesotans you can be naive and not realize that this is important and counts," she said.
The daughter of famed lawyer Miles Lord, one of the founders of the DFL party, Lord Faris and Franken agree on many issues like Iraq, health care and energy prices. But she's convinced Franken is unelectable.
"Let's get our heads out of the sand. Look at what the Republicans are doing. They're swift boating. They're Karl Roving him," said Lord Faris.
She said she's angry and humiliated by the Coleman campaign using one of her own ads to attack Franken. But she knows the odds for victory are against her.
However, she says she's continuing a DFL tradition of challenging the status quo, and in this race, she calls herself the "Minnesota option".
"Al Franken, because he doesn't know Minnesota, he thinks that he's the anointed one and no one should challenge him. Well, I'm challenging him. I'm proud of that," said Lord Faris.
Lord Faris filed for the U.S. Senate office just about a month ago, in the last hour of the last day before filings closed. She's got almost no money and her campaign staff is made up of a few close friends and family.
When asked if the Franken campaign has a comment about the challenger by Lord Faris, a spokesman said only "We are focused on Norm Coleman."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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