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'''Alan Stuart "Al" Franken''' (born May 21, 1951), a [[liberal]] [[Democrat]] and former satirist and comedian known for his extreme obnoxiousness toward and hatred for attacks against [[Republican]]s and [[Conservatives]], is the junior U.S. Senator from [[Minnesota]]. He was declared the winner after obtaining a slim majority of the votes. The Minnesota Supreme Court rejected the last legal challenges from his opponent, [[Norm Coleman]], who conceded.
After all the court appeals the Republican governor of Minnesota, [[Tim Pawlenty]], signed the certificate of election for Franken and he took office July 6, 2009, for a six year term. Franken's win gives gave Democrats a 58-40-2 margin in the Senate, enough to shut off filibusters if the 58, along with two Independents who caucus with the Democrats, hang together.
==Career==
Franken was born in [[New York City]], and spent several years while growing up in St Louis Park, a suburb of [[Minneapolis]]. Until he decided to run for the Senate, he lived in [[California]] and [[New York]] all of his adult life. <ref>[http://www.owenfranken.com/bio.html Owen Franken, Biography, statement about where Al Franken resided]</ref>