In the race to defeat Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) for the MN-SEN seat in the 2008 election, three candidates have announced they are running: Al Franken, Mike Ciresi and Bob Olson. Two other are considering running, but are still exploring their possibilities: Peter Agre and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. Al Franken is the clear front runner followed closely by Mike Ciresi and rather distantly by Bob Olson. I've met with all the declared candidates and here's my posts about them.

Al Franken
Mike Ciresi
Bob Olson

Peter Agre is a Nobel-prize winning scientist. He's had a couple of interviews here and here, but he not even living in the state yet. He may not be the smartest candidate in the field (if he joins the race) which says alot about the intellects of his competitors.

Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer is the favorite of the peace activists. He has strong, thoroughly-considered stands on the major issues of the day. He would would run a grassroots campaign, but would start way behind Franken who is running a grassroots campaign. Never underestimate the peace activist crowd ... their numbers are growing with each day that the occupation of Iraq continues.

It may be too late for Agre and JNP, unfortunately. They need to decide soon and it may even be too late which says more about campaign finance reform than the positions they stand for. Its time to compare and contrast the declared candidates.

Al Franken

Al Franken's campaign has an awesome amount of energy. People and politicians are flocking to his side, their endorsement list lengthens almost daily. They have 4500 volunteers 17 months out from the election, 11 months out from the DFL State Convention in Rochester. 25,830 people donated to the campaign in Q2 at an average of $65.10 per totaling $1.9 million. He's outraising Norm who raised $1.5M of mostly PAC money. He's traveling the state campaigning like Paul Wellstone. His momentum is building and could soon be overwhelming. Overwhelming to his DFL opponents and Norm.

On the other hand, peace activists are uncomfortable with his initial support for the Iraq War and their opinion that his stance is too nuanced and don't get the troops out soon enough. Many are worried that because of all the dirt out there on him, he'll implode and cost us out best chance to retake Paul Wellstone's seat. While he has high name recognition, has a high negative rating in a recent poll, 39% favorable, 46% unfavorable. And finally, there's a worry that only famous and wealthy people run for statewide office in MN.

Mike Ciresi

Mike Ciresi has undoubtedly fought for the people. He has won landmark legal decisions in the Dalkon Shield, Bhopal disaster and Big Tobacco cases. He's drawing politicians and people to his side. $750,000 is solid fundraising for someone who declared in mid-April. He's out campaigning and meeting people, but is still building momentum. I'm sure that the people running his campaign will run a grassroots campaign if he were to be the DFL nominee.

The knock on Mike is his fame cuts two ways -- he's a trial attorney who'll just support big business. His campaign is a step or two behind Al's. Republicans can attack him just as easily as they will attack Al. He's rich (estimated net worth ot $26.7M) and can just buy the seat. Can only famous and wealthy people run for statewide office in MN?

Bob Olson

Bob Olson clearly sees how environmental issues impact just about every area of politics. His stances on the Iraq War to the economy to taxes all reflect his core belief that we must address global warming. Environmentalists would find him the strongest candidate on their issues. He's a tax attorney and a business owner. He's also a long-time DFL activist who has strong, progressive stances on taxes, education and healthcare. He's not famous and cannot buy the Senate seat which may be appealing to those who don't like the direction politics has taken lately.

Unfortunately, he's a distant third. Some may accuse him of being a single issue candidate. Rumors abound that he is just using this as a means to raise his profile before challenging Michelle Bachmann in the CD-6 race.

But its about the issues, gol dangit!

As a progressive, I want my issues represented. As a progressive, I want a candidate who will most likely support, work for and vote for the issues I find most important. I want a champion. So here's my comparison of the candidates on the individual issues.

Iraq War

None of them are dummies. They know the progressive base wants out of Iraq. Al advocates an orderly and planned withdrawal. Mike spoke similarly. Bob doesn't just want us out as soon as possible, he wants to make a statement about oil dependence which influenced why invaded in the first place. They all would have voted for the 1st supplemental bill that included timetables and all would have voted against the capitulation which was the 2nd supplemental bill. The peace activists are uncomfortable with Al and don't trust Ciresi. If Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer enters the race, they'll flock to him. I give the edge to Bob for bringing up oil dependence.

Torture
Even, Stephen. They all know its wrong, fruitless, damages our standing in the world and endangers our troops.

Attack Iran
Once again, they've all said its a bad idea. They're all even on this one.

Habeas corpus
Once again, all even. Our Bill of Rights needs to protected and all favor the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007.

Impeachment
Unfortunately, they're all not in favor of it. While they agree that the crimes the Bush Administration has committed are heinous, its just that they all think its a waste of time to press for impeachment. Many progressives differ with them on this issue. Oh well.

Healthcare reform
While they all want Medicare to negotiate its drug prices, none of them are for a single payer universal healthcare and none see the health insurance industry as the root of our healthcare crisis. Maybe they need to see SICKO. They all want some variation on universal healthcare insurance coverage. They have different ideas about how to do it. Ciresi is endorsed by the CEO of Delta Dental which indicates he won't be addressing the root of the issue. My colleague Grace Kelly states her concerns about Mike's stance here and you can read the Ciresi response here. Al at least indicates that he's going nearest to the best direction:

"A single-payer system clearly would save the most in administrative costs, but there are other ways to achieve universal coverage. Every other industrialized country in the world does have universal health care, but they don’t all use the traditional single-payer model. We should work together to develop an American model that reflects our culture and our history."
(Issues page of alfranken.com)

While the candidates do not advocate a single payer system, at least Al seems closer to what we progressives want. Al gets gets a grudging nod on this issue ... but barely.

Stem cell research
They are all for fully funding stem cell research.

Renewable Energy
Al has talked alot about global warming and renewable energy, Mike has a video up on his website on it, but Bob has the experience and knowledge ... he's an expert on it. While Mike and Al both see the need for renewable energy, I give the edge to Bob because of his activism.

Education
Their all DFLers and all understand the importance of properly funding our educational system. They would all be good on this issue.

Grassroots campaign
Bob has to run a grassroots campaign because he's such a long-shot. He is solid on the issues and is convinced that DFLers will like him once they get to know him. His staff are grassroots campaigners. Also, with the amount of money Al and Mike can throw around, grassroots campaigning is his only shot.

Mike, on the other hand, may run the least grassroots campaign of the three. His name recognition is fairly high. His negatives are nowhere near as high as Al's. He has the personal wealth to run a big media campaign and attend a few DFL functions on the side. While I am concerned that Mike won't run all that grassroots of a campaign if he were to get the DFL endorsement, Kerry Greeley ran Tim Walz campaign which was run in true Wellstone mode.

Al's campaign is the definition of grassroots. His staff are heavy hitters that I know understand why Amy Klobuchar won by overwhelmingly. His donor base is broad and most importantly, people are really excited about his campaign. It is likely he has over 4500 volunteers and since he was up on the Iron Range last week hitting the parades and various DFL events, he likely has even more. Back in February and March, I had trouble finding out how to direct friends who wanted to volunteer for Al, but now the volunteer operation is in full swing. Furthermore, Al is creating quite a buzz in the netroots.

Endorsements
Al leads, Mike is respectable and Bob trails by a lot. The bottom line is Al has been working on this for a while before he officially declared. He's had those conversations with Labor, state senators, state representatives and has been convincing many.

Al Franken's endorsements:
State Auditor Rebecca Otto, Teamsters Joint Council 32, Teamsters Local 120, United Steel Workers District 11.
28 state legislators:
Sen, Don Betzold (Fridley), Sen. Jim Carlson (Eagan), Sen. John Doll (Burnsville), Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes (Winona), Sen. Dan Larson (Bloomington), Sen. Tony Lourey (Kerrick), Sen. Steve Murphy (Red Wing), Sen. Rick Olseen (Harris), Sen. Sandy Pappas (St. Paul), Sen. Dan Skogen (Hewitt), Rep. Tom Anzelc (Balsam Township), Rep. John Benson (Minnetonka), Rep. Robin Brown (Austin), Rep. Kent Eken (Twin Valley), Rep. Tim Faust (Mora), Rep. Larry Haws (St. Cloud), Rep. Mike Jaros (Duluth), Rep. Scott Kranz (Blaine), Rep. John Lesch (St. Paul), Rep. Bernie Lieder (Crookston), Rep. Shelley Madore (Apple Valley), Rep. Tim Mahoney (St. Paul), Rep. Frank Moe (Bemidji), Rep. Kim Norton (Rochester), Rep. Nora Slawik (Maplewood), Rep. Cy Thao (St. Paul) and Rep. Tom Tillberry (Fridley).

Mike Ciresi's endorsements:
US Rep. Betty McCollum (CD4), Rep Karla Bigham (Cottage Grove), Sen Dick Cohen (St. Paul), Rep Mike Paymar (St. Paul), Mike Freeman, Hennepin County Attorney, Jim Gilbert (former State Supreme Court Justice), Todd Jones (former U.S. Attorney), Ember Reichgott Junge, Hubert H. “Buck” Humphrey, Lee Humphrey , Steve Kelley, George Latimer, Roger Moe, Kathleen Flynn Peterson, Rick Stafford (DNC Member), Vance Opperman, Ruth B. Usem (CEO of New Sidelines Inc.), Michael Walsh (CEO of Delta Dental), Kelly Doran

MN-SEN DFL Candidate Issue Comparison Chart