Election

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) ― Democrats have endorsed Al Franken. Now, will they embrace him?

The comedian-turned-candidate survived the first major challenge of his fledgling political career over the weekend. Franken's unexpectedly rapid victory in the fight for the state's Democratic-Farmer-Labor endorsement helped steady a campaign reeling from a six-week period that saw focus shift from accounting problems at his personal corporation to outrage over some of the more tawdry things he said or wrote as a comedian and satirical author.

A number of leading Democrats had pronounced themselves offended by a few of Franken's jokes, led most notably by U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum. But the firm show of support from the local activists who comprise the lion's share of delegates was enough to convince most of the state's leading Democrats to join Franken on the convention stage as he celebrated his victory.

Among those front and center were U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who both said they'd been offended by Franken's edgier material.

Franken convinced convention delegates with his frequently repeated vow to "stand up to Norm Coleman in a way he's never been stood up to before," as Franken put it in his convention speech. But some Democratic lawmakers wondered if his name on the general election ballot will benefit other Democratic candidates.

Rick Hansen, a Democratic legislator from South St. Paul and longtime local party activist, said Franken crispy and calmly addressed his recent woes. But Hansen said he's convinced the character questions will dog him all fall.

Hansen said he and some other elected officials who will share the ballot with Franken remain apprehensive.

"Two years ago Amy added to the wave," he said of Klobuchar's landslide victory in 2006. "He may not add to the wave. He may be the reef that breaks our wave."

Kathy Saltzman, a first-term state senator in a swing district, shared similar concerns. She was pleased that Franken addressed the concerns head on, but predicts he'll have to do it over and over again on the campaign trail.

"This is the DFL family," she said of convention-goers. "The general public might view it differently."

Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, whom Franken beat for endorsement, said he wouldn't run in the September primary. Attorney Mike Ciresi, who dropped out of the endorsement race months ago, indicated before the convention that in light of Franken's troubles that he might still get into the primary race.

Franken downplayed the potential threat.

"When Mike Ciresi was running for the endorsement he said over and over that he'd abide by the endorsement," Franken said. "I believe that he will."

Republicans said they'd try to keep the spotlight on Franken's old jokes, with party chairman Ron Carey contending that "every DFL candidate on the ballot this year will need to explain why they refused to condemn Franken's demeaning and degrading comments."

Franken promised a campaign focused instead on Coleman's record, which he criticized as in thrall to both the Bush administration and powerful interests like oil and drug companies. He said as a U.S. senator he would "stand for the college student graduating with that crushing burden of debt. For the steelworker fearing his pension won't be there when he retires. For the farmer wondering if he'll be able to pass the rural way of life on to the next generation."

With their political conventions out of the way, the campaigns will start to gear up for what most in Minnesota's active political scene expect to be one of the most expensive, bitterly fought campaigns in the state's history.

Franken lacks some of the stumbling blocks facing many first-time candidates: His "Saturday Night Live"-minted celebrity and years as a liberal commentator give him both high name recognition and easy access to a network of influential donors in the upper reaches of both the political and entertainment world.

Coleman has run in two of the wildest elections in recent Minnesota history. He lost to Jesse Ventura in the 1998 governor's race, but beat Walter Mondale in the 2002 Senate race after the former vice president got in less than two weeks before the election, after the death of Sen. Paul Wellstone in a plane crash.

This time, Coleman has the enthusiastic backing of the Republican Party, which is trying to head off more damage in what many Republicans fear will be another round of rough congressional elections for the party. He'll get a profile boost in August, when the Republican National Convention is held in St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center -- a facility Coleman pushed for and helped achieve when he was mayor of St. Paul.

Both candidates have raised handfuls of campaign cash. By the end of March, Coleman had raised about $12.4 million for the race, compared with around $9.2 million for Franken, though Franken had spent considerably more. That's money that will allow both candidates to maintain a heavy TV presence.

Franken is to hit the road Monday for a four-day, 24-city tour that spokeswoman Jess McIntosh said would hit "every corner of the state."

Said Franken after Saturday's victory: "I can't wait to get a good night's sleep and start the general election campaign."

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Norm Coleman was born in New York City in 1949. Al Franken was born in New York City in 1951.

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