Franni Franken

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 [...]

Three Minnesota candidates who didn’t win their elections — or haven’t won yet anyway, with the U.S. Senate race still in limbo — can take a little consolation in having their television ads (or ads meant to benefit them) honored on national best-of lists. “Running,” the first TV ad that Democrat Ashwin Madia aired in his losing bid to replace U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District, was this morning ranked among the nation’s eight best ads in U.S. House races this year by The Fix, a Washington Post blog. Videos and more best-of listings after the jump, including the ad attacking Madia that used clips from “Running.”

Aside from the candidate’s voiceover offering the requisite message of approval, a new commercial by Al Franken’s campaign is entirely voiced by Franni, Franken’s wife of nearly 33 years. Over the kind of gentle piano soundtrack reserved for either heart-warmers or confessions, she goes for both, beginning by recalling the couple’s love-at-first-sight meeting at a [...]