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Franken and Davis sail in Minnesota |
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By Aaron Blake
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Posted: 09/09/08 11:19 PM [ET] |
Comedian Al Franken and physician Brian Davis cruised to victory Tuesday in the Minnesota primary, turning aside challenges to their state party-endorsed candidacies.
Franken (D) had no problem with a late-forming Senate primary challenge from attorney Priscilla Lord Faris.
Franken led 66-29 with 69 percent of precincts reporting, quieting some questions about his appeal to the Democratic faithful and his general election viability. He and Sen. Norm Coleman (R) are now set for a pitched and expensive race in one of the top-targeted states for Democrats.
Lord Faris entered the race in part to test Franken, whom she criticized in television ads for his past crude and sexual humor.
Former interim Sen. Dean Barkley easily won the Independence Party nomination and figures to steal some votes from Coleman and Franken in the general election. Barkley briefly replaced the late Sen. Paul Wellsone (D-Minn.) in 2002 after Wellstone’s tragic plane crash death, and before Coleman assumed the seat.
Davis won the state GOP’s endorsement in the 1st district but faced a challenge from an early favorite in the race, state Sen. Dick Day. He easily dispatched Day, though, leading 66-34 with 73 percent of precincts in.
He will now face freshman Rep. Tim Walz (D), who began the cycle as a top GOP target. Davis has seen an uptick in his fundraising since notching the party endorsement, but Walz had $1.3 million cash on hand in mid-August, compared to Davis’s $310,000. |
