Franken campaign hires another veteran strategist

The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza reports that Eric Schultz, former national spokesman for John Edwards’ 2008 presidential bid, will join Al Franken’s staff as deputy campaign manager. Schultz also previously served as communications director for Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Cillizza reports that Schultz accepted the position after heavy lobbying from national Democrats, who view Sen. Norm Coleman as one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the country. Last month Stephanie Schriock, who helmed the successful upset Senate bid of Jon Tester in 2006, took over as campaign manager. Also among Franken’s inner circle are media consultants Mandy Grunwald and Saul Shorr, and pollsters Diane Feldman and Roy Temple. Here’s Cillizza’s assessment of the challenge awaiting Schultz:

He joins a campaign under siege.

Franken got off to an extremely strong start, erasing many of the doubts that observers — The Fix included — had about the seriousness of the endeavor. Through a combination of extremely strong fundraising and a focus on grassroots organizing, Franken all but forced attorney Mike Ciresi from the race — a development that ensured he would be the Democratic nominee.

And then, everything went wrong. Franken and his staff mishandled reports that he owed back taxes in a number of states — allowing the story to linger for weeks before eventually paying off the money he owed. Then came the revelation of a satirical column Franken had written for Playboy magazine heavy on sexual talk (man does that sound prudish) that brought him condemnation from, among others, Minnesota Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum.

Franken caught something of a break when former governor (and professional wrestler) Jesse Ventura decided earlier this week not to join the race as an independent but recent polling suggests that Coleman has opened up a solid lead over Franken.

All is not lost for Democrats in the state, however. The additions of Schultz and Shriock should help bring order and discipline to Franken’s campaign and Barack Obama‘s presence at the top of the ticket should also provide a boost to the Democratic ticket.