ANOKA, Minn.  The hottest campaign here this year pits a veteran Republican politician against a Democratic newcomer and has people debating the need for change and which candidate can help fix the economy.

It's not the presidential race between John McCain and Barack Obama that has people in this Minneapolis suburb buzzing. It's the close, costly and contentious U.S. Senate contest between Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken, a comedian, writer and first-time candidate.

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A poll Oct. 22 by Rasmussen Reports found Franken leading Coleman, 41%-37%, with Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley at 17%. A few months ago, Franken faced questions about his entertainment company's unpaid taxes and a 2000 Playboy humor column, in which he described visiting a fictional sex institute, and his campaign seemed stalled, says Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. Growing economic worries changed that, Jacobs says. "Franken has been surfing the bad news in America, and his campaign has really got that anti-Republican wind in its sails."

Topic A: the economy

Over lunch at Legal Grounds, a downtown coffee shop, Jeff Christopher, 66, a retired carpenter, and his daughter Aleesha Ackerman, 32, a secretary, say they usually disagree on politics. He's inclined to support Republicans, and she leans to Democrats. Concern about the economy, though, has both of them planning to vote for Franken.

"Everybody's talking about the economy because it's right in their living room," Ackerman says. Salaries at the RV dealership where her mother-in-law works were just cut in half, and Ackerman worries about her own job. Franken, she says, "seems more in touch with people who are struggling." Her dad adds, "He's going to listen to the people."

At a nearby table, sheriff's detectives Edward Egly, 53, and Larry Johnson, 44, say they will vote for Coleman. "I'm not going to throw a senior senator out because a guy moves here from New York and decides to run," Egly says. The economy is important, he says, but so is national security, and he agrees with Coleman's tough stance on terrorism. Franken's family moved to Minnesota when he was 4, and he returned to the state in 2005.

A Franken win could help the Democrats fulfill their goal of reaching 60 Senate votes. With two independents, Democrats hold a 51-49 voting majority but need 60 to end filibusters.

The Minnesota Senate race is the most expensive congressional race in the country, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics. Coleman raised almost $18 million and Franken about $16 million, Federal Election Commission reports show. It also has been notable for negative TV ads by the campaigns and national parties. Franken's ads accused Coleman of doing nothing to prevent wasteful contracts in Iraq, and ads by Coleman's campaign and the GOP characterized Franken as angry, profane and unfit for office.

This month, Coleman announced plans to pull all his negative ads, but there were plenty of fireworks at Friday's debate. The candidates tangled over taxes, gun control and economic policies. Coleman charged that Franken would raise taxes, while Franken accused Coleman of wanting "to continue the Bush economic policy." Barkley, who helped manage Jesse Ventura's 1998 gubernatorial campaign and portrays his candidacy as a way to end partisanship, said after one testy exchange: "This is why I'm running. This is what's wrong."

Obama leading in polls

The stakes in the presidential race are high, too: Obama is counting on 10 Electoral College votes from the state, which hasn't backed a Republican presidential candidate since Richard Nixon in 1972. The Rasmussen poll taken Oct. 22 found Obama up 56%-41% in Minnesota.

Neal Allen, an associate professor of political science at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, says Franken stands to benefit most from concerns about the economy, which could outweigh his inexperience.

"If this election is about the differences between Al Franken and Norm Coleman, then likely Coleman wins," he says. "Franken has picked up support … because economic problems have made voters more receptive to Democratic appeals on the economy."

Anoka County is a swing county with a history of pivoting between Republican and Democratic candidates. Its voters supported President Bush in 2000 and 2004 while his Democratic opponents carried the state. In the two top 2006 races, Anoka County voters favored Republican Tim Pawlenty over his Democratic opponent in the governor's race, and Democrat Amy Klobuchar over a Republican in a U.S. Senate race.

That divide makes for strong partisan views here, but economic anxiety unites most voters. "I have no business anymore. It's in the toilet," says Dee Kopp, owner of Yours, Mine & Ours antique shop. She's not a big McCain fan, she says, but she'll vote for him and Coleman because she trusts Republicans to keep taxes low.

Hunger for change in Washington motivates Mark Vetsch, 57, owner of Mr. Mark Music, a downtown store. "I'm going to vote against anybody with ties to the current administration," he says. "Things have to change."