Minnesota Lawyer
Julianne Ortman
Four-term Republican state Sen. Julianne Ortman says she is “seriously considering” jumping into the Minnesota U.S. Senate race against DFL incumbent Al Franken.
Ortman, who before this week has been quiet about a possible bid for the seat, now says she has been “meeting with family and friends and consulting with advisers” on whether or not to pursue a bid.
“It’s a very big race and it’s a very big decision so it warrants some time and thought,” Ortman said, adding that she doesn’t have a firm deadline to decide, but is aiming to make a decision in the “next several weeks.”
Ortman, of Chanhassen, is an attorney who works in the Hennepin County Sheriff’s office. She ran the powerful Taxes Committee in the upper chamber when Republicans controlled the Senate, and her name has been mentioned in the past as a possible challenger to Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson. Franken is running for his second term after narrowly beating Republican Sen. Norm Coleman for the seat in 2008.
Only one other candidate — Minneapolis business executive Mike McFadden — has announced a bid for the Senate seat. Ortman said she has been surveying the field of possible challengers and that will be part of her consideration.
“I want to give it all of attention and serious thought it deserves,” she said.
