The strategy backfired — though the ad brought down Franken’s favorability ratings, it also cost Coleman in a state where “Minnesota nice” prevails. Once polling showed Coleman losing ground, he decided to take down all his negative ads.

10 moments that rattled race for Congress
By: Josh Kraushaar, Politico
October 28, 2008 06:37 AM EST

A case can be made that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) made the gaffe of the election when she went on MSNBC’s “Hardball” and suggested that Barack Obama and other Democratic members of Congress held anti-American views. Her comments changed what looked like an easy path to victory into a political dogfight with a very uncertain outcome.

Read more after the jump…
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COLEMAN MANAGER ON NRSC CHAIR BID: “That’s For After The Election”

Norm Coleman’s answers continue to change regarding his not-so-stealth campaign to lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Republican Senators have already said that Coleman has asked for their support. Last night on KMSP, his campaign manager Cullen Sheehan said his effort to head the group responsible for the most offensive direct mail piece this cycle was “a conversation for after the election.” Meanwhile, in an interview with WCCO’S Pat Kessler, Norm Coleman has already begun thinking about how he would run the committee.

Read More after the jump…
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Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, came to Mankato this week to hold an ag roundtable with Al and local farmers. The Mankato Free Press covered the event:

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Harkin promised to try to help farmers with credit issues if Congress returns to Washington after Nov. 4 to pass an economic stimulus package. But to tackle bigger long-term issues in a way that favors smaller farmers rather than large operations, he again asked Minnesota voters to provide reinforcements.

“I need good people like this on the Ag Committee,” he said, pointing to Franken. “We can make some real changes.”

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Read more from the article in the full entry…

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With two weeks left until Election Day, Sen. Hilllary Clinton and Al Franken drew a crowd of over 2,000 people for a rally at the University of Minnesota. Sen. Clinton urged everyone to get out and work hard to elect Al Franken to the Senate, because this is going to be a very close race and we need every single vote.

Read excerpts from coverage of the rally after the jump…

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Al and Franni took southern Minnesota by storm on Saturday for a “Rebuilding the Middle Class Economy” Tour that took them from Worthington to North Mankato to Preston. Al and Franni split up their route so that they could talk to folks all over southern Minnesota about Al’s plans to create jobs in Minnesota and help our middle class families in these tough economic times.

The Frankens visited a total of 10 cities yesterday to hold campaign meet & greets with local folks from Fairmont to Rochester, and they got a great reception from the people who had come out to hear what Al wants to do to help Minnesota families ­ from middle class tax cuts to new support for small businesses.

Read coverage of the tour after the jump…

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Congressman Jim Oberstar joined Al in Hibbing and Duluth on Friday to talk about Al’s plan to help our small businesses create jobs. In Duluth, Al and Rep. Oberstar spoke at a locally-owned small business, W-Trek Outfitters.

From the Duluth News Tribune:

While Washington has responded to the economic crisis by directing billions of dollars to help bail out banks, U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken said Friday he has a plan to help the middle class by unfreezing credit for small businesses.

Franken, a Democrat, announced his plan at a Friday afternoon news conference at W-Trek Outfitters in Duluth. W-Trek Outfitter owner Nodin Morgenstern liked what he heard.

“I am afraid of what’s happening with the economy,” he said. “I know these guys are fighting for me, for small businesses. The plan sounds solid.”

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Read more excerpts from the article after the jump…

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After Saturday’s debate at Breck High School, the reviews came pouring in: Al Franken spent the debate focused on the issues that matter to people. Al highlighted his plans to help Minnesotans, strengthen the middle class and create jobs. He may not have sounded like a typical Washington politician, but Al showed that he is ready to bring change to Washington as a United States Senator.

AP:

The debate saw plenty of discussion on the issues, but the candidates also used their first extended shot at a TV audience to stress the styles they hope will sway voters.

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For Franken, it was a vow to put Minnesota’s middle class above special interests.

“This election isn’t about the three of us on the stage,” he said. “It’s about you, the people of Minnesota, who haven’t been getting a fair shake from Washington.”

Read more coverage of debate in the full entry…

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Franni visited the Brainerd DFL Office yesterday for lunch with our hard-working supporters and DFL activists, including Rep. John Ward (DFL-Brainerd).

Lakeland TV News came to check it out – watch their TV news coverage here (minute 10:20 of the broadcast). Local DFLers talked about their bustling volunteer activities and about Franni’s giant apple pies – and Franni reflected on the wonderful experience she’s had on the trail so far.

Or read the story from the Brainerd Dispatch (excerpts after the jump).

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TeamFranken headed to St. Cloud State University yesterday, where Al spoke about his idea for a $5000 college tuition tax credit so that Minnesota’s middle class families can help their kids pay for college.

Read the full post for an excerpt from the St. Cloud Times article about the event…

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Sen. Klobuchar, Al Franken, Vice President Gore

Vice President Al Gore joined DFL leaders like Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Congressmen Tim Walz and Keith Ellison at the University of Minnesota on Saturday for a DFL Founders Day rally to support Al Franken for Senate. Vice President Gore spoke to a crowd of almost 1500 people about the importance of this election, and the importance of working hard to get Democrats up and down the ticket elected this November.

Read excerpts from an AP article on the event after the jump…

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