2008Flipped from RepublicanFinal results
2008 election for U.S. Senate in Minnesota
U.S. Senate · Minnesota
Al Franken (D) won with 42.0% of the vote, defeating Norm Coleman (R) by 0.0 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Al FrankenDemocrat · winner
42.0%1,212,629
Norm ColemanRepublican
42.0%1,212,317
Dean BarkleyIndependent
15.2%437,505
Charles AldrichLibertarian
0.5%13,923
James NiemacklConstitution
0.3%8,907
2,887,646 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2008
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Al FrankenNorm Coleman
$22.5M
Raised by the campaign
$19.3M
$21.1M
Spent by the campaign
$19M
$1.4M
Cash on hand
$2M
Other candidates' campaigns: Dean Barkley $163.4K.
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 2008.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 2008
The candidates
Al Franken (D)Norm Coleman (R)Dean Barkley (I)
Also on the ballot: Charles Aldrich (Libertarian), 0.5%; James Niemackl (Constitution), 0.3%