Al Franken to be sworn in on Tuesday

Published 9:25 am Monday, July 6, 2009

Minnesota’s days of being a single-senator state are down to one.

Democrat Al Franken is due in Washington this week to be sworn in on Tuesday. The seat he’ll fill has been vacant for six months while Franken and Republican Norm Coleman dueled over a close November election.

Franken joins Democrat Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota’s Senate delegation.

Email newsletter signup

His win puts Minnesota in a unique category. The state now has more former living senators than any other.

Coleman is the eighth Minnesotan to join that club. Two other states — Colorado and Tennessee — each have seven.

But that also reflects high turnover and means Minnesota has a low-seniority delegation in an institution where longevity matters.