It’s not easy being a comedian-turned-Senate candidate. Al Franken’s bid to replace first-term Minnesota Republican Norm Coleman has hit some speed bumps lately, Bloomberg reports. Though Franken has nabbed the party’s endorsement, he’s been dogged by bits from his past—like a 2000 Playboy article entitled Porn-O-Rama, which describes human-robot sex in graphic detail—and the GOP isn't hesitating to dredge up more.
“Most of the stuff I wrote was really funny and really appropriate,” the former Saturday Night Live star says. “Some of it wasn’t.” Franken’s also been dogged by back-tax issues, to the dismay of supporters. "Democrats in Minnesota are just pulling their hair out,'' one analyst said. "You've got an environment that's very favorable to Democrats and a Republican incumbent who's clearly vulnerable.'' (More Minnesota stories.)