An enthusiastic crowd of chanting DFLers greeted an optimistic Franni Franken as she stopped at Brainerd's DFL office Tuesday.
Led by Rep. John Ward, DFL-Brainerd, the party faithful greeted DFL Senate candidate Al Franken's wife with chants of "Fired up - Ready to go" as they met for pizza, pop and pleas from Franken to keep working hard until Election Day.
She predicted her husband would win despite one poll which had Al Franken about 10 points up and another which had him about 10 points down. She figured the campaign was somewhere in the middle but slightly ahead.
Franni Franken reacted to an enthusiastic reception she received Tuesday as the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate's wife visited the DFL campaign headquarters in Brainerd.
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"Things are definitely trending Al's way," she said. "We need word of mouth. We need to engage people. Of course it's going to come down to one simple thing: We vote - we win."
In a brief interview Franken said that people realize that change is needed.
"Bush's policies have been abject failures and Norm's (Norm Coleman) been his biggest cheerleader."
She said her husband didn't live his life thinking that he would one day run for public office, so they knew that words he had written would be taken out of context when he became a candidate. However, she said they felt that Minnesotans were not merely smart but that they had a sense of fair play and that they could distinguish between what a person did in a career and as a candidate for senator.
Asked if her husband might have been a stronger candidate had he served in elected office before his Senate bid, she noted that U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., went straight from a teacher's classroom to Congress.
"We need non-traditional politicians," she said. "We need diversity."
Franken said she thinks her husband's candidacy is trending upward right now.
"The race is pretty much tied but the momentum is with Al," she said.
Before appearing at the DFL headquarters Franken met with U.S. Postal Service letter carriers at Ruttger's and students at Central Lakes College.
DFL House District 4B candidate Meg Bye of Pequot Lakes told the candidate's wife she was "blown away" by the recent political advertisement in which Franken talked about her struggle with alcohol and her husband's support for her.
Franken was preceded by Al Franken campaign worker Mike Simpkins who spoke about encouraging polls that projected a DFL lead in the Senate race.
"The Republican (Party) brand name is in the toilet," he said.
Before leaving Franken said it would be important for party volunteers to work hard from now until Election Day. And if her husband is elected, she made a promise that may or may not have been approved by the candidate.
"I'm sure Al will take you all out for ice cream," she said.
MIKE O'ROURKE may be reached at mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5860.
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