Al Franken (D-Minn.)

Franken's win is key to President Obama's agenda as it gives Democrats the 60 votes necessary in the Senate to prevent Republican filibusters.

Known for engaging in public shouting matches with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and writing a best-seller titled Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations, Franken is an unapologetic liberal who has drawn unmatched ire from conservatives. If Coleman's legal challenges to a vote recount don't go his way, Franken will, in one of the slimmest Senate victories ever (.007 percent of the vote), take his act on the largest political stage in the country.

After forging a career in comedy and entertainment that always had a political edge, Franken slowly grew more willing to embrace his ideological leanings, proving a capable Democratic fundraiser and election-year supporter by making campaign appearances for Democratic candidates. At the center of the liberal Air America radio network and as a best-selling author, Franken has spent the past decade evolving into a uniquely biting liberal voice.

Franken's celebrity, and blunt partisanship, should make him popular with the media and an efficient mouthpiece for the left. Still, if he becomes a senator, Franken hinted that he was prepared to accept the political reality of compromise, stating, "I'm going to have to earn it by being a senator who fights for every Minnesotan. Whether you voted for me or not, I want every Minnesotan to hear this: I work for you now."

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