Dems to Coleman: Concede Already

Legal process must run its course in Senate race, Gov. Pawlenty says

(NEWSER) - Minnesota officials turned down Al Franken’s request that he be certified as senator, the AP reports, just hours after his attorneys argued that a waiting period had passed for challenges. Though Franken emerged from the recount 225 votes ahead of incumbent Republican Norm Coleman, Coleman is challenging the result in court, the Hill adds. More»

But court case could keep race on for months

(NEWSER) - The battling campaigns in the Minnesota Senate race have agreed to count some 900 incorrectly rejected ballots, an unexpectedly high proportion of the 1,350 reviewed by county officials. The system required both campaigns to agree on every ballot, which made such a figure seem unlikely, Talking Points Memo reports. More»

Coleman holds 192-vote lead; 5K ballots challenged

(NEWSER) - The Minnesota Senate recount is complete, but the state won't have a winner anytime soon. Not only are 133 ballots missing in Minneapolis, but the state canvassing board has yet to convene to review thousands of challenged ballots. The meeting is set for Dec. 16. Norm Coleman holds a provisional 192-vote lead over challenger Al Franken, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. More»

(NEWSER) - The Minnesota Senate recount is more than half done, and incumbent Norm Coleman is seeing his slim lead erode day by day, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The Republican’s lead over challenger Al Franken is now 120 votes—down from 215 on Tuesday and around 700 after the election. Missing ballots and a growing number of challenges by both camps have plagued the process. 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»