Al Franken

Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American politician, comedian, screenwriter, and actor who served from 2009 until his resignation in 2018 as a United States senator from Minnesota. A member of the Democratic Party, he worked as an entertainer before entering politics, appearing on television and in film. Franken gained fame as a writer and performer on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. He first worked on the series as a writer from 1975 to 1980, and returned from 1985 to 1995 as a writer and, briefly, a cast member. Afterward, Franken became a liberal political activist, hosting a radio show and writing satirical books scrutinizing the American right. Though initially dismissed as a novelty candidate due to his background in comedy, Franken was elected to the United States Senate in 2008, defeating incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman by 312 votes out of nearly three million cast (a margin of just over 0.01%) in one of the closest elections in Senate history. Franken was reelected in 2014 with 53.2% of the vote. In January 2018, he resigned after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him. He later said he regrets that decision. In September 2019, Franken announced he would be hosting The Al Franken Show on Saturday mornings on SiriusXM radio. It covers global affairs, politics, and entertainment.