Jesse was on Larry King apparently and told everyone the sad, sad news. He's not running for Senate. And since I broke the speculation, I figured I ought to wrap it up.

Hotline's writeup:

Surprising no one, ex-MN Gov. Jesse Ventura (I) just told CNN's Larry King that he won't join the MN SEN race now dominated by Sen. Norm Coleman (R) and entertainer Al Franken (D).

Squinting into the camera, with his dyed-black hair apparently pulled back in a ponytail, Ventura told King that he's so disgusted with both parties that he doesn't plan to vote for either Barack Obama or John McCain.

So anyway, Al Franken can breathe a little easier, as it would have been near impossible for him to get any oxygen with Jesse Ventura around. He'll have it easier with mano y mano with Norm Coleman. Shooting from the hip, I'd say advantage Coleman, I just think Franken is not where most Minnesotans are at.

So apparently Jesse Ventura is thinking about running against Norm Coleman in Minnesota. This could make Minnesota the runner up in media attention this election cycle. We already have the Republican convention in Minneapolis. Then the matchup between Norm Coleman and Writer and former SNL comic Al Franken promised to be at least a very interesting race.

From the LAT

The buzz surrounding Ventura grew very loud today, following the broadcast on NPR of an interview he gave David Welna Sunday in a parking lot in Minnesota. He again talked as if he had decided to run, and even offered what presumably would be one of his main messages: "All you Minnesotans take a good hard look at all three of us. And you decide: If you were in a dark alley, which one of the three of us would you want with you?"

Ventura quickly clarified that his remarks were hypothetical, and that he'll continue to weigh his options until the filing deadline. "It will come down to whether I want to change my lifestyle and go to that lifestyle or not," he said.

In my mind I've been handicapping this race for Coleman, as I thought that Al Franken has and will have just too much baggage for the Minnesota voter. And even though given his past, I don't want to predict against Ventura, he would probably make Coleman's reelection even easier by splitting the anti-Republican/GOP/war vote. But it will be up to the Minnesotans.