Franken ‘ready to go to work in Washington as soon as possible’

Franken claiming victory outside his Minneapolis home. Photo: Stefan Lund

Al Franken, calling himself “the next senator from Minnesota,” said Monday afternoon he is ready to go to Washington, D.C., to get to work just as soon as possible.

But Franken didn’t respond to reporters’ shouted questions about exactly when he would go to Washington and retreated up the front steps of his downtown Minneapolis townhouse with his wife, Franni, and campaign aides.

In a brief statement in which he twice referred to his “victory,” Franken also acknowledged just how close his 225-vote margin of victory over former Sen. Norm Coleman was. “I didn’t win the support of every Minnesotan. I’m going to have to earn it,” he said. “I work for you now and I will work hard to earn your confidence.”

Franken paid tribute to Coleman with a note of sympathy that recalled former Minnesota Gov. Karl Rolvaag’s statement after the state’s last big recount in 1962. “I know that this isn’t easy” for the Colemans, Franken said, because his own family had faced tough days since the election. But he described the recount process as “long, fair and … thorough.”

With a nod toward threats of lawsuits and filibusters, Franken said he hoped Minnesota would continue to be served by two senators “without interruption.” Whatever happens on that score, Franken said he would “focus all my attention and all my energies” on working on issues facing Minnesotans — including an economy he said was in the “worst crisis since the Great Depression.”

Franken’s appearance was one of a very few he’s made since Election Day, and his statement included offerings of thanks to staff, supporters and others that “I wish I’d been able to give on Election Night.” He also thanked election workers in a state that he said had shown the world it “takes its democracy seriously.”

As Franken ended with a pledge to get to work, a woman passerby who had stopped to listen shouted out, “Yeah, get on the job!” From the tone of her voice, it wasn’t entirely clear whether she was a Franken fan, a Coleman backer or simply another citizen ready for the recount to end.

Here is the prepared text of Franken’s statement as released by his campaign:

It has been a remarkable couple of months. Our recount brought national attention
to Minnesota, and what Americans saw is that we take our democracy seriously. Our
recount process was long, it was fair, and it was thorough. We should all be proud
of our state, and we should all be grateful for the incredible hard work and
dedication of all of our elections officials, from the state canvassing board and
the Secretary of State’s office to the officials in the cities and counties and
precincts of Minnesota.

After 62 days, after the careful and painstaking hand inspection of nearly 3
million ballots, after hours and hours of hard work by elections officials and
volunteers across the state, I am proud and humbled to stand before you as the next
Senator from Minnesota.

This victory is incredibly humbling - not just because it was so narrow, but
because of the tremendous responsibility it gives me on behalf of the people of
Minnesota.

While the recount process played out, the challenges facing our state and our
nation have only grown. With tensions in the Middle East reaching the boiling
point, our economy facing its worst crisis since the 1930s, and Minnesota’s middle
class families being squeezed harder than ever, it’s clear that we have a lot of
important work to do.

I want you all to know that I’m ready to go to Washington and get to work just as
soon as possible. And I look forward to joining President-Elect Obama and Senator
Klobuchar in getting our country moving in the right direction again.

I know this is not an easy day for Norm Coleman and his family, and I know that
because Franni and I and the kids have had plenty of time over the past two months
to contemplate the possibility that this election would turn out differently. Norm
has worked hard for this state and this country, and I hope to ask for his help to
ensure that Minnesotans can continue to count on receiving excellent constituent
services from their two Senators without interruption.

I also know that this was a hard-fought victory, and that I didn’t win the support
of every Minnesotan. I’m going to have to earn it by being a Senator who fights for
every Minnesotan, whether you voted for me or not. And I want every Minnesotan to
hear me say: I work for you now. And I will work hard to earn your confidence.

There may still be additional legal proceedings related to our recount. But I’m
now in the business of serving the people of Minnesota. And the best way I can
serve the people of Minnesota right now is to focus all my attention and all my
energies on getting to work for them on the issues we’ll be facing together.

I would like to close by doing something I wish I’d gotten a chance to do properly
on Election Night, and that is to thank some people. My amazing staff and
supporters across the state who made this victory possible and stuck with us this
whole way. All the volunteers who woke up the morning after Election Day and got
right back to work to help our recount effort. Our state’s dedicated elections
officials, our tremendous congressional delegation, and our fantastic Senator, Amy
Klobuchar, who continues to be a mentor and an inspiration. And, of course, my
beautiful wife Franni and our amazing family.

For our state, today marked the end of a long process that will forever be a part
of Minnesota history. But today is also a beginning. The history of our country
will be forever altered by what we do together to address the challenges we face
together. So, with tremendous gratitude for the victory we have won, I’m ready to
get to work.

Thank you.