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Republican state Sen. Julianne Ortman is hitting the campaign trail this week in a bid to replace DFL U.S. Sen. Al Franken. Ortman entered the race today when she kicked off her campaign in Waconia.

The Chanhassen resident told supporters that the U.S. Senate needs someone with her background - a suburban mom who’s working to pay her bills and put her children through college.

“What we really want is a stronger advocate for Minnesota and a guardian of the public’s trust with a stronger connection to real Minnesotans,” Ortman said.

Ortman used her speech to criticize Franken's support for the federal health care law. She also blamed him for playing a part in the budget deficit and for not taking a harder stance on limiting government surveillance of cellphone records.

“You would think that the chair of Senate’s privacy committee would have been the first to alert us to this alarming invasion of our privacy," she said,  "but for five years he has remained silent with full knowledge of this abuse of power and thereby gave his full consent.”

Franken has proposed legislation that would create greater transparency and disclosure on the use of the government's data collection efforts.

Ortman is the third Republican to enter the race for Senate. And she has been working to showcase her background as what she calls an "ordinary Minnesotan."

During her speech, she also took a shot at Mike McFadden, the former CEO of Lazard Middle Market who is also seeking the Republican nomination, when she said the Senate doesn’t need any more millionaires.

After her speech, she said her background as a state lawmaker makes her better suited to serve in Congress.

"I know that Mr. McFadden has not had any public service,” Ortman said. “I think making that transition to Washington is not an easy thing, but I'm prepared and ready to do it."

Ortman and McFadden, and the third GOP candidate, state Rep. Jim Abeler of Anoka, have not ruled out running in a primary if they fail to win the Republican endorsement at the party's convention.

Ortman was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2002. She served as deputy majority leader and chairwoman of the powerful Senate Tax Committee when Republicans controlled the Legislature in 2011 and 2012.

Democrats used Ortman's legislative record to criticize her, saying she protected corporations and wealthy Minnesotans at the expense of others.

For his part, Franken is saying little about his Republican opponents. Last month, when he was asked to size up the field, he said: “When you win by 312 votes, you don’t take anything for granted. The election is well over a year away and people in Washington just want us to get results, and that’s what I’m focused on."

The latest campaign finance report shows that Franken has a sizable fundraising advantage over his Republican opponents, but that could change in the next 15 months, especially if polls suggest the race is tightening.

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Tom Scheck

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Republican state Sen. Julianne Ortman is hitting the campaign trail this week in a bid to replace DFL U.S. Sen. Al Franken. Ortman entered the race today when she kicked off her campaign in Waconia. The Chanhassen resident told supporters that the U.S. Senate needs someone with her background – a suburban mom who’s working…

VIDEO: Ortman kicks off U.S. Senate campaign

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