The Minnesota senator who replaced Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) last year amid sexual misconduct allegations addressed Franken’s political future in the state on Thursday amid speculation he may run for office again.
“People really like Al. It’s complicated,” Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) told Hill.TV’s Buck Sexton and Krystal Ball on “Rising.”
Franken told local CBS affiliate WCCO in an interview on Wednesday that he missed working as a senator and that he is not ruling out running for office again.
“I miss the whole job. I loved that job, I loved the job as senator,” Franken said.
“I don’t know. I haven’t ruled it out, and I haven’t ruled it in,” he said when asked whether he would run for office again.
Franken resigned from the Senate late last year after eight women accused him of sexual misconduct.
The allegations came as various powerful, high-profile men, including movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, NBC anchor Matt Lauer and Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) all stepped down from their positions amid sexual misconduct allegations against them.
Smith said she did not want to speculate on Franken’s next career move.
“That is totally up to Al,” she said. “I trust him to make the best decisions for himself, and I won’t speculate on that,” she said.
— Julia Manchester
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