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Franken on Running Again: ‘Won’t Rule it Out, Won’t Rule it In’

Wife Franni jokes, ‘I think there are times that both of us would like spend less time together’

Former Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and his wife Franni leave the Senate in December after he announced he was stepping down. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Former Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and his wife Franni leave the Senate in December after he announced he was stepping down. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Former Sen. Al Franken said he did not rule out the possibility of running for office again in his first sit-down interview since leaving his seat amid a sexual harassment scandal.

In an interview with a Minnesota CBS affiliate, the Democrat from Minnesota said he missed working in the Senate.

“I miss the whole job. I loved that job, I loved the job as Senator. … It was very meaningful for me and bittersweet, I would like to still be there,” he said.

Franken resigned in January after multiple reports of inappropriate sexual conduct with women both before and during his tenure in the Senate. 

From the Vault: Glimpses of a Departing Senator

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Franken was attending the dedication of a new high school on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. One father said Franken repeatedly visited the school that was replaced and said he wanted Franken to return to public life.

Sen. Tina Smith replaced Franken and is running in 2018 in the same cycle as Minnesota’s senior Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Franken’s wife Franni said leaving the Senate was hard for both of them.

“It has been a challenge, but we do get to spend more time together, and I think there are times that both of us would like spend less time together,” she said. 

When asked if he would run for office again, Franken did not explicitly say either way.

“Well, see, if I say anything there you will put it in the story,” he said. “I don’t know. I haven’t ruled it out, and I haven’t ruled it in.”

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