Franken Sees End Near in Minn. Senate Dispute

(NEWSER) - Norm Coleman isn't going to drag out Minnesota's Senate fight any longer. Coleman conceded the race to Al Franken today, hours after the state's Supreme Court decreed that Democrat Franken was the rightful winner of November's election, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "Further litigation damages the unity of our state," said Coleman. "The future today is that we have a new United States senator." 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»

Trial rhetoric escalates as judges deny Coleman ballots

(NEWSER) - Norm Coleman's lawyers lambasted the judges in Minnesota's recount trial for again refusing to reconsider certain rejected absentee votes that would narrow Al Franken's 225-vote lead in the Senate race, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. The attorneys called the rulings a "legal quagmire" and said the "fatal inconsistency serves to disenfranchise some voters while allowing others with the same ballots to have their votes counted." More»

During campaign he was wonky and even a bit boring

(NEWSER) - Liberals may be hoping for biting wit and conservatives for embarrassing shtick, but according to Bob Benenson of CQPolitics, Al Franken is likely to disappoint both when he finally arrives in the Senate. Throughout his campaign Franken displayed an impressive mastery of Minnesota issues and made clear his candidacy was not a lark. Some Dems even began to think of the SNL star as boring. More»

(NEWSER) - We still can't say for certain who will be Minnesota's next senator, but at least some of the legal bills are being straightened out. A Minnesota elections court ordered Norm Coleman to pay Al Franken nearly $95,000 to cover trial costs, reports the Minnesota Independent. Coleman must pay up because the court ruled against him. There's still no word, meanwhile, on when the state's highest court will issue its big decision. More»