Franken: ‘I get to be the senator’

Photo: Andy Birkey/MnIndy

At a rally at the State Capitol today, Sen.-elect Al Franken saluted his wife, Franni — without whom, he said, “I would have lost … by kind of a lot.” Franken said once he decided to run, he told friends, “Franni and I are running for the senate. And if we win, I get to be the senator.”Honey, I get to be the senator [Laughter]. I get to be the senator because of you.”

About his wife’s contributions to the campaign effort, Franken told the crowd, “You don’t know the half of it” — a phrase with a weird ring to it, coming from a guy who got barely more than half the votes cast for him or his main rival. 

Franken then broke up with emotion as he moved from talking about his family to his intentions in office:

We’re just lucky. What we’ve been through is just nothing, especially compared to what so many Minnesotans have been going through during this same period.

He said he looks forward to “tackling touch challenges [on behalf of] working families.” His win gives him a chance to work on such issues, he said, “and I’m not going to waste that chance.” He cited Paul Wellstone, the Democrat who held the seat before Republican Norm Coleman: “Politics is about improving people’s lives.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar spoke to the crowd before Franken. Another noontime rally to celebrate Franken’s victory’s was set to take place in Duluth.