Al Franken Isn't Joking About Retaking Senate

In 1995, Stuart saved his family. Twenty years later, he's hoping he can do the same for Senate Democrats. Politico reports Saturday Night Live alumnus and current senator Al Franken is using his celebrity status to a greater extent than ever before to help Democrats retake the Senate in 2016. “It’s absolutely crucial that we take the majority," Franken tells Politico. He says he believes 2016 will be the best shot for Democrats to do that until at least 2020. Plus he wants to give a potential President Hillary Clinton a supportive Senate for her legislative agenda, cabinet choices, and more. Franken is currently using his fame to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Democratic senate candidates around the country.

Politico reports the Democrats need to win back five seats in 2016 to retake control of the Senate, which they lost last year. And it sounds like they're ready to let Franken help them do it. “He’s become a serious senator," Sen. Chuck Schumer tells Politico. "But he still has that celebrity aura. So he’s a draw." However, Republicans are more than happy to throw Franken back in Democrats' faces. “It says a lot about Democrats that they want to use Washington insiders to promote their struggling campaigns,” a National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson tells Politico. Read Politico's entire interview with the normally interview-shy Minnesota senator here. (More Al Franken stories.)