Al Franken Declared Winner in Minnesota Senate Race, Again
Related subjects: Judicial Rulings, U.S. Elections, U.S. Politics, Vote 2008, Webb Tisch Comments (5)
After yet another recount, a Minnesota court has found that the total vote tally shows Democrat Al Franken winning the race for the US Senate seat, contested since November 2008. Then incumbent Norm Coleman, who said when he held an early lead, in November, that Franken should drop out for the sake of the people of his state, now intends a months-long court battle to ‘appeal’ the court’s finding.
Numerous reports have cited sources suggesting the Coleman camp intends to continue appealing for as long as possible, spending millions, to try to prevent Franken from taking the seat he won in November, and possibly to bankrupt his campaign before the appeals process has run its course. Pro-Democratic activist groups, like MoveOn.org, are seeking funds, support, publicity and legal intervention, to prevent Coleman from dragging the case indefinitely into the future.
Coleman was asked by the court to pay part of the court costs, and the unanimous verdict dismissed Coleman’s argument with prejudice. Though the totals remain close, Coleman’s entire case is said to rest now on the validity of a number of absentee ballots that may have been postmarked after the election, rendering them invalid under Minnesota law. Calls for the process to drag on indefinitely have faltered, and there is now added pressure on Coleman to withdraw further appeals.
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As New York’s Daily News reported:
“It’s time that Minnesota, like every other state,” has two senators, a jovial Franken said outside his Minneapolis townhouse.
After a statewide recount and seven-week trial, Franken stands 312 votes ahead. Nearly 3million votes were cast in the race.
The Republican incumbent may have staked his entire political future on this race. Ousted from the Senate by the voters, but unwilling to concede, depriving his state of full representation in Congress for now well over three months, Coleman risks being remembered by all Minnesotans as the politician who put his own fortunes, or his party’s ahead of the interests of the people of his state.
In an email to supporters after the verdict, Franken praised the state’s election officials for their professionalism and dedication:
I’m confident that our victory will stand. After all, this has been the most scrutinized election in our state’s history, and our win yesterday is just another vindication of the work our elections officials did to determine who won…
Coleman’s chosen course now becomes far riskier, for the defeated senator and for his party. In a state with a history of renowned statesman senators from the Democratic party, Coleman’s fight to overturn what the state’s election officials and the courts say is the will of the people, may do still further damage there to the Republican party’s brand, already severely weakened nationwide amid the perceived failings of the Bush presidency.
Franken’s swearing in as the 100th US senator for the current Congress would give the Democrats an effective majority of 59 to 41 (counting two independents who vote with the Democrats on most issues). This means that on any issue where even one Republican might for personal reasons of conscience or ideology vote with the Democrats, the Republican party might be prevented from staging even the threat of a filibuster, further empowering Democrats to move forward on the president’s agenda of reform.
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