Former member of Congress · last served 115th Congress

Al Franken

DEMOCRAT U.S. Senator · MinnesotaSenate 2009–2018

Al Franken was a Democratic U.S. senator from Minnesota, first elected to Congress in 2009, who voted with most Democrats on 95% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 1 bill that became law (113th–115th Congress).

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110Bills & resolutions sponsored113th–115th Congress (excludes amendments)

2Passed a chamberof 99 substantive bills (excludes resolutions and ceremonial bills)

1Became law1 substantive + 0 ceremonial · 113th–115th Congress

12Broke with partyof 249 yes/no votes, 112th (4.8%)

2Missed votesof 251 roll calls, 112th (0.8%)

—Pork: own shareFY2024 earmarks: not in office

How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.

5 most recent votes

YeaOn Passage of the Bill — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012
Jan 1, 2013 · Bill Passed
YeaOn the Nomination — Nomination vote
Dec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
YeaOn the Nomination — Nomination vote
Dec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
YeaOn Passage of the Bill — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013
Dec 28, 2012 · Bill Passed
NayOn the Amendment — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013
Dec 28, 2012 · Amendment Rejected

5 most recent bills

S. 2267 Pension Priority Act
Dec 21, 2017 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
S. 1851 Advancing Grid Storage Act of 2017
Dec 5, 2017 · Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Energy. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 115-493.
S. 2132 Family Coverage Act
Nov 15, 2017 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
S.Res. 297 A resolution supporting Lights On Afterschool, a national celebration of afterschool programs held on October 26, 2017.
Oct 26, 2017 · Resolution agreed to in Senate without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.
S.Res. 306 A resolution recognizing the month of October 2017 as "National Principals Month".
Oct 25, 2017 · Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6820; text as passed…

Top bills sponsored

Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.

Elections Sen. Franken has won

Sen. Franken has won 2 U.S. Senate elections (2008, 2014). Of the contested races, margins ran from 0.0 to 10.2 points.

Democratic winRepublican winseat changed partyunopposed

Elections won2 in the data (1976–2024); losses are not listed

Closest win: 0.0 points2008, MN Senate

Won an open seat or took one from the other party1 of 2 elections (open seat or changed party)

Seat history, Minnesota Senate (class 2)Winners in regular elections, most recent three: Norm Coleman (R) 2002 → Al Franken (D) 2008–2014 → Tina Smith (D) 2020. The seat is next on the ballot in 2026.

Full election history for this seat →

Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.

How has Minnesota done while Sen. Franken served?

2009 to 2017 in Minnesota: typical household income was up 7% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was down 1.5 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was down 4.5 points.

Typical household income · after inflation

Minnesota: $81.7K in 2009 → $87.8K in 2017

Minnesota up 7%U.S. up 5%

Share of people below the poverty line

Minnesota: 11.0% in 2009 → 9.5% in 2017

Minnesota down 1.5 pointsU.S. down 0.9 points

Share of workers looking for a job

Minnesota: 8.2% in 2009 → 3.6% in 2017

Minnesota down 4.5 pointsU.S. down 4.6 points

Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Oxblood = state, grey = U.S.

While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Minnesota during Franken’s time representing it (2009 to 2018). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.

Minnesota’s borders do not change, so every year is comparable. The Census Bureau has no 2020 yearly estimate.

See the full 20-year record →Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates (tables B19013, B17001, B23001) and BLS CPI-U-RS for inflation, retrieved October 18, 2026. “About the same” means the change is inside the 90% margins of error. Who held the seat: Congress.gov member service records, year level.

Official records on bills this member sponsored

115th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 23 bills sponsored.

Record	Bills	Source
Bills sponsored	23	Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them →
With a CBO cost estimate listed	1	See the 1 →
With a committee report listed	1	See the 1 →

Evidence

How counted: Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 115th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
Fields: cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
PORKER copy refreshed: October 26, 2026 (nightly)

Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.

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Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded Senate vote Sep 30, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.