Kline keeps U.S. Senate run on the table

Rep. John Kline, R-MN, briefs reporters in St. Paul.

(MPR Photo/Tom Scheck)

GOP Rep. John Kline isn't ruling out a challenge to DFL Sen. Al Franken in 2014.

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"I guess I'll be playing a role and I'm not sure what that role is," Kline said during a briefing with reporters in St. Paul. "We would like to have, obviously, a good challenger in every race and it would certainly include that one.

Kline has been one of several Republicans who have been mentioned as mounting a run against Franken. He deflected a question as to whether he was interested in running or would rule out a run against Franken.

"I will make a decision on whatever I'm doing sometime in the summer," Kline said. "It's just too early to say."

Kline was first elected to the U.S. House in 2002. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

He's the second member of Minnesota's congressional delegation to not rule out a Senate run. GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen didn't rule out a run when he spoke with reporters earlier this month.

Republicans have been searching for a potential challenger to Franken but no candidates have made an official announcement yet. Franken announced he's running for reelection and appears in pretty solid ground at this point.