Take It to the Supreme Court: GOP to Coleman

Could Bush v. Gore save the Minnesota Republican?

By Gabriel Winant, Newser User

Posted Mar 17, 2009 9:38 AM CDT

(Newser) – There’s only one thing you need to know about the Minnesota Senate race: It will never end. Norm Coleman, waiting on a state court to rule on his challenge to Al Franken’s 225-vote lead, is being urged by top Republicans to take his case all the way to the Supreme Court, Politico reports. And they're pointing to some notable case history: Bush v. Gore.

Republicans say that the equal protection principle in Bush v. Gore invalidates Minnesota’s nonstandardized absentee ballot-counting methods. “Using the same standards to count votes is a big issue," says Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. Democrats scoff at this; Sen. Harry Reid says Coleman will “never ever” be a senator again. Politico notes that an appeal might also damage Coleman’s reputation among Minnesota votes, hampering a future campaign.

[Images (3)]

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Members of the Supreme Court sit for a group portrait at the Supreme Court in Washington in this March 3, 2006 file photo. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

In this Feb. 26, 2009 pool file photo, former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman sits pensively during a court delay before the start of the Senate vote recount trial in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, Pool, File)

Minnesota Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken arrives for the Democratic policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

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Whoever the loser is, they’re going to have to examine how good they think their case is, whether they would have a chance of winning, what it does to the state by not having a second senator, the costs involved, all that sort of thing. - Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz)

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Take It to the Supreme Court: GOP to Coleman