Coleman, Franken show impressive fundraising

In what is expected to be one of the most competitive U.S. Senate races of 2008, Sen. Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken each said Wednesday they raised more than $1 million in the past three months.

Coleman, the Republican incumbent brought in $1.5 million and has $2.8 million on hand.

Franken, seeking the DFL nomination, reported raising $1.3 million and has $1 million on hand.

That's a much faster start to money-raising than Minnesotans witnessed in the 2006 Senate race. At this point in that race, the two main candidates had raised just over $1 million between them.

For a race that has already gotten national attention partly because of Franken's celebrity, the early dollars show that Franken, a former "Saturday Night Live" performer and a liberal radio talk-show host, is serious about cash, analysts said.

"It's impressive," said Joseph Peschek, a political science professor at Hamline University. "And I think it probably will reinforce the sense that Franken is a serious candidate and that he's going to mount a serious challenge. I think his opponents have sort of hoped that after the initial excitement, people would sort of ... dismiss it and this show-biz guy."

A Franken campaign statement said he raised money from 10,000 donors in all 50 states, although it didn't say how much came from outside Minnesota. His fundraising total more than doubles the $580,000 Amy Klobuchar raised during the same period two years ago on her way to winning election last fall.

Political analysts also suggested that others seeking the DFL nomination should take note of Franken's early fundraising strength.

"What we have are two people who have developed elaborate fundraising networks," said Steven Schier, a political science professor at Carleton College. "Al Franken through his activism and his career in the entertainment industry has bi-coastal support beyond Minnesota. And Norm Coleman, of course, has worked to build support outside the state as well."

Both sides confident, happy

The campaigns touted their early fundraising efforts Wednesday.

"We are thrilled with the ongoing success and support we are experiencing as we begin building the Senator's re-election campaign," said Coleman's campaign manager Cullen Sheehan.

Said Franken spokesman Andy Barr: "We've known for some time now that people are excited about Al's candidacy, and our fundraising success confirms that."

Attorney Mike Ciresi, who is expected to seek the DFL nomination, didn't start fundraising before the March 31 closing date of the filing period, said his state director Kerry Greeley. Dick Franson, another DFL candidate, has reported raising $7,856 and has around $760 on hand.

Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, has labeled the 2008 races in Minnesota and Colorado as toss-ups. In January, the Rothenberg Political Report put Coleman's seat, two other seats held by Republicans and two seats held by Democrats on the "watch list."

The 2006 race between Democrat Klobuchar and then- U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, a Republican, brought in $18.6 million. That was almost $7 million less than what Senate candidates raised in 2002, the year Coleman challenged Sen. Paul Wellstone and then ultimately defeated former Vice President Walter Mondale after Wellstone died in a plane crash.

"This could be 2002, where we top the charts in this close, all the way to Election Day, or it could be [2006] where one candidate breaks away, establishes a lead and the money stops flowing in quite the same way it did before that happened," said Schier. "And it's just impossible to say at this point."

Candidates have to file complete fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commision by April 15 for activity in the first quarter.

Brady Averill is a correspondent in the Star Tribune Washington Bureau: 202-383-0015

Brady Averill • baverill@ startribune.com