Minnesota apparently will not get another talk show host to run for statewide office–at least not next year.
The brief but furious speculation over comedian Al Franken running for the U.S. Senate from Minnesota ended Thursday as the liberal talk show host told listeners on his Air America Radio network program that he would not seek the nomination to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Mark Dayton.
Franken did not rule out a run in 2008.
Dayton, who was named by Republicans as a prime target in the 2006 election, shook up the Minnesota political world Wednesday by announcing he would not seek re-election. That decision fueled talk that Franken, who expressed an interest in challenging Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in 2008, might follow the example of talk show host Jesse Ventura, who won the 1998 governor’s race as an independent.
But after keeping the media guessing, Franken, who grew up in Minnesota but lives in New York, said in a broadcast from Washington that he would not run next year.
“Minnesotans are very serious about their politics … and they should be,” said Franken, adding that if he does run in 2008 he will move back to Minnesota and bring his talk show.
