The 2008 election is now less than a year away.

In Minnesota — just below the presidential race in the battle for voters’ attention, TV stations’ advertising slots and donors’ money — will be the campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Norm Coleman.

Coleman is running for a second term and is a lock to the be Republican nominee. Who his Democratic opponent will be is partly being decided now.

Front-runners Al Franken and Mike Ciresi and a pair of lesser-known candidates — Jim Cohen and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer — are attempting to identify Democrats who are likely to be delegates at June’s DFL State Convention. With all four pledging to abide by the wishes of the delegates, only the endorsed candidate is expected to continue on to the general election against Coleman.

“It’s like you fight for every blade of grass,” Ciresi said of the struggle to win the most delegates.

While about 1,400 delegates will decide who to endorse, tens of thousands of Democrats will begin the process of picking the 1,400 during precinct caucuses Feb.5.

So while the candidates are focused on party activists for the time being, Ciresi (last week) and Franken (last month) gave a sample of what they’re telling Minnesota Democrats during the courting process.

Al Franken: A familiar face with a serious side

Al Franken, doing a 9 a.m. interview in the student union at Minnesota State University, mentioned that many Minnesotans aren’t yet interested in the 2008 race for U.S. Senate.

“You get the sense that a lot of people are so frustrated with politics they don’t want to talk about it and aren’t paying attention,” he said.

Other Americans are caught up in “an entertainment stupor,” distracted by other pop-culture diversions. Franken maintains he has a unique ability to reach those people.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you,” a woman says, walking up to Franken’s table near Jazzman’s coffee bar, “but I have a friend who’s a really big fan of yours. ...’”

Franken gets her name and the friend’s name and, along with the requested autograph, writes a note. Whatever the note says, it makes her laugh and she leaves smiling.

“Then there are people who just understandably feel they’re not part of the process — that they don’t really have a say,” Franken says, getting back to the interview.

He runs through a long list of special interests that have much more influence in Washington than do average Americans: big financial interests, big pharmaceutical companies, big insurance firms, big oil, big media ...