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Capitol View®
Brett Neely

Franken to get support from more outside groups

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WASHINGTON - With many Minnesota Republicans coalescing around GOP-endorsed candidate Mike McFadden, DFL Sen. Al Franken is getting some potentially significant support from outside groups, including a pro-gun control group founded by former Arizona U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords.

Americans for Responsible Solutions, which was founded by Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, after Giffords suffered severe injuries in a shooting, named Franken to a list of 11 lawmakers it plans to spend money defending this election cycle. The group has raised more than $14 million so far and expects to raise at least $20 million before November.

“Americans know that gun violence threatens the safety of our communities, and that our political system desperately needs leaders willing to stand up for the rights and responsibilities of gun ownership and challenge the conventional thinking. We’re looking forward to seeing common-sense approaches to reducing gun violence win in November,” said Kelly in a statement.

Franken voted in April 2013 in a favor of a bill that would have extended background checks on potential gun buyers though the bill was ultimately killed by a Republican-led filibuster. Last year, McFadden told MinnPost that he was "open to looking at expanding background checks" but has since backtracked on that position under criticism from fellow Republicans.

ARS did not say how much the group will spend in Minnesota or whether it will get involved in other races in the state, such as the 8th District, where gun control has also been an issue.

The other outside group backing Franken is closer to home -- the Alliance for a Better Minnesota. ABM, funded by liberal donors and labor unions, is perhaps best-known for its work helping the DFL recapture both chambers of the state legislature in 2012. Last week, the group filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to form a federal super PAC to help Franken. Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited funds with so long as the group's spending is not coordinated with a political campaign.

"We needed to file a superPAC to do federal work during the GOP endorsing convention and allow us to do work on the US Senate race moving forward. We've been very open for the past year that we were likely to work on the Senate race in Minnesota and filing the PAC allows us to legally do so," said ABM director Carrie Lucking.

Another liberal group, WIN Minnesota, formed a super PAC to back Franken's re-election earlier this year.