Ortman to announce political plans on Saturday
State Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, has scheduled a Saturday news conference in Waconia to announce her “political plans for the immediate future.”
Ortmann is widely expected to announce she’s running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by DFLer Al Franken. She said she was strongly considering a Senate run earlier this summer.
Ortman was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2002. She served a stint as Deputy Majority Leader and as chair of the powerful Senate Taxes Committee when Republicans controlled the Senate in 2011-2012.
Ortman would be the third Republican to announce a run against Franken in 2014. Businessman Mike McFadden of Sunfish Lake and state Representative Jim Abeler of Anoka are also running.
Republicans has searching for a top flight candidate to challenge Franken since he defeated Senator Norm Coleman by 312 votes in 2008.
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