Franken Wins Minn. Primary

Senator-elect stresses loyalty to state, downplays Dem. supermajority

(NEWSER) - Al Franken said he was “thrilled and honored by the faith Minnesotans placed in me” after the state Supreme Court declared him the winner of the Senate recount, CNN reports. "I'm so excited to finally be able to get to work " said Franken, who added that he got a "very gracious" phone call from Norm Coleman. In his news conference, Franken struck a cordial tone, saying he would stand on principle when necessary but would be willing to "compromise" for the good of constituents. More»

(NEWSER) - Norm Coleman and Al Franken are tussling over $94,000 in legal fees as they head to the Minnesota Supreme Court, Talking Points Memo reports. A county clerk ruled this week that Coleman, after losing a court ruling in the Senate race, owed Franken the money under a loser-pays election law. But Coleman's lawyers say "costs and disbursements will become moot" if he wins, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. More»

Franken picks Senate staffers as rival refuses to concede

(NEWSER) - Embattled former senator Norm Coleman is keeping alive the last fight of Election 2008 with an appeal to Minnesota's Supreme Court, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Coleman is arguing that a lower court that awarded Al Franken a 312-vote victory denied constituents their constitutional rights by rejecting some absentee ballots. Franken, meanwhile, has started picking his Senate staffers. More»

Dem gains some 90 votes in rejected-ballot count

(NEWSER) - As election officials in Minnesota tallied up some 350 previously-rejected Senate ballots today, Al Franken stretched out his lead over Norm Coleman by almost 90 votes, making it more than 312, the Star Tribune reports. That’s good news for Franken in Coleman’s lawsuit over the election, which a lawyer said today he'll appeal to the state Supreme Court. Coleman intends to argue that ballots weren’t treated equally. More»

Former senator 'not ruling out' state, federal appeals

(NEWSER) - Norm Coleman is leaving himself the option of taking the case of Minnesota’s disputed Senate election all the way to the US Supreme Court, Politico reports. The Republican is not “at this point” expecting to go that far—after all, that’d be after the Minnesota Supreme Court and federal appellate courts—but said today he’s “not ruling out anything.” More»