Independent: Threat to Franken in Minnesota? « The Washington Independent
Jul 31, 202022.2K Shares822.5K Views
For most of the year, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and his Democratic challenger, former “Saturday Night Live” comedian Al Franken, have been locked in a tight contest. But, as The Wall Street Journal reported today, the arrival of Independent candidate Dean Barkley, an advisor to former Gov. Jesse Ventura, has shaken things up. With a thin staff and almost no campaign spending, Barkley has rallied support as high as 14 percent in some polls, the Journal reports. And while both Coleman and Franken claim Barkley’s late entrance into the race will help their chances in November, some see the advantage falling to Coleman. From the Journal:
“„Mr. Barkley draws voters from both parties, but many observers see his candidacy as more threatening to Mr. Franken, who has struggled to consolidate Democratic support. “He is competing with Franken for the angry voter who disapproves of Bush and sees the country as off on the wrong track,” pollster Larry Jacobs, a professor at the University of Minnesota, said after early polling.
That’s bad news for Democrats, who’ve hoped to knock off Coleman by linking him to an unpopular President George W. Bush. The next few weeks will be decisive: Five debates loom, and all three candidates will participate.
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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