Michael T. Franken

Michael Thane Franken (born November 8, 1957) is a former United States Navy officer. His final posting was as Deputy Director of Military Operations for the United States Africa Command. He graduated from the College of Engineering at the University of Nebraska as well as the College of Physics at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Career
Franken was the first commanding officer of USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) and served on the USS King (DDG 41), USS Dahlgren (DDG 43) and USS Barry (DDG 52). As commodore, he commanded Destroyer Squadron 28 and Task Group 152.0 for the Eisenhower Strike Group. Franken also served as the U.S. Africa Command’s deputy for military operations.

In Washington, D.C., he served a fellowship in congressional affairs for the Office of the Secretary of the Navy; as the political-military chair in the Chief of Naval Operations’ Executive Panel in Information, Plans and Strategy’s Deep Blue staff; in the Assessments Division in support of Navy’s representation in the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and in the Joint Staff’s Joint Operations Division. He presented the worldwide orders book to Secretary Donald Rumsfeld from 2003 to 2005 and was the first military officer to serve as a legislative fellow for the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

2020 U.S. Senate election in Iowa
On August 26, 2019, Franken announced that he would be running for the United States Senate in the State of Iowa in the 2020 election, as a Democrat. He will be challenging incumbent Joni Ernst, a member of the Republican Party.