Democrat Al Franken Expands Lead in Minnesota Senate Race
April 10, 2009
Democrat Al Franken has expanded his lead over former Senator Norm Coleman to 312 votes.
So will Coleman finally give it up and let the people of Minnesota get the full and fair representation they deserve? No. Coleman's lawyers have already sworn more and more court appeals.
Enough is enough. For the last week, the DSCC's grassroots have been delivering a united message to Norm Coleman: Give it up. On Tuesday, state election officials counted 351 unopened absentee ballots, as ordered by the three-judge panel overseeing the case. The count added 87 votes to Franken's total.
The judicial panel still needs to issue rulings on issues involving potentially double-counted and missing ballots, but none of these decisions are expected to change the outcome.
The Coleman camp says he's ready to appeal the case to the Minnesota Supreme Court and, if necessary, to the federal courts.
Regardless, Coleman's legal contest of the election could be over soon - and Franken will still be the winner. At this point, it seems like Coleman is just playing politics with Minnesota's fair representation. It's ridiculous.
The new ruling from the court proved what the people of Minnesota have known all along. Once you count all the properly cast votes, Al Franken wins.
But it's not just Democrats who are convinced Coleman must step aside gracefully: One local Minnesota newspaper that enthusiastically endorsed Coleman's campaign last year published an editorial this week saying it was time for him to "throw in the towel."
Ex-Republican Senator Dave Durenberg speculated in a press interview that the national Republican leadership is funding Coleman's endless appeals "just to keep the Democrat out of the Senate."
Even a columnist at the ultra-conservative National Review posted a one-line statement to his blog earlier this week: "I think it's time for him to give up this fight."
Our simple message - it's time for Norm Coleman to concede - is starting to take hold. If you haven't added your voice, it's not too late.
Losing votes, court cases, and the confidence of your supporters is bad enough, but Norm Coleman could soon be facing much bigger problems. Politico has the story:
Separate and apart from the ongoing legal dispute over November's election, the Minnesota Republican faces several unresolved investigations: a reported FBI probe into his dealings with Nasser Kazeminy, a friend and benefactor; a potential Senate Ethics Committee inquiry into his Capitol Hill living arrangements; a federal elections investigation into his use of campaign donations for legal expenses; and a possible state probe into his campaign's handling of donors' financial information on its website.
That's four ethics investigations in one paragraph! And even if Coleman wasn't about to lose his court case, none of these ethics probes are going away. Consider that for the first time this week - after months of denials - Coleman refused to answer definitively whether he was under federal investigation.
Dodging a question like that is never a good sign.
Polling update
Two good polls for Democrats have been released in the last couple of weeks. In Missouri, Democratic Secretary of State Robin Carnahan leads both declared candidate and former House Republican Whip Roy Blunt and undeclared candidate and former State Treasurer Sarah Steelman.
In New Hampshire, Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes possesses the early lead in a matchup against former Republican Senator John Sununu. The six-point margin sounds even better when you consider that Hodes only represented half the state, whereas Sununu lost a heated, statewide battle for reelection just last year.
Sununu isn't an official candidate yet, but the Republican bench is very shallow in New Hampshire. Many observers have speculated that he will be eventual Republican nominee. It's great news that he would be starting the race at a serious disadvantage.
It is, of course, still very early in the election cycle. We all know that the shape of these races could change rapidly based on outside events. But at this point, things are looking very promising for our Democratic candidates in Missouri and New Hampshire.
So will Coleman finally give it up and let the people of Minnesota get the full and fair representation they deserve? No. Coleman's lawyers have already sworn more and more court appeals.
Enough is enough. For the last week, the DSCC's grassroots have been delivering a united message to Norm Coleman: Give it up. On Tuesday, state election officials counted 351 unopened absentee ballots, as ordered by the three-judge panel overseeing the case. The count added 87 votes to Franken's total.
The judicial panel still needs to issue rulings on issues involving potentially double-counted and missing ballots, but none of these decisions are expected to change the outcome.
The Coleman camp says he's ready to appeal the case to the Minnesota Supreme Court and, if necessary, to the federal courts.
Regardless, Coleman's legal contest of the election could be over soon - and Franken will still be the winner. At this point, it seems like Coleman is just playing politics with Minnesota's fair representation. It's ridiculous.
The new ruling from the court proved what the people of Minnesota have known all along. Once you count all the properly cast votes, Al Franken wins.
But it's not just Democrats who are convinced Coleman must step aside gracefully: One local Minnesota newspaper that enthusiastically endorsed Coleman's campaign last year published an editorial this week saying it was time for him to "throw in the towel."
Ex-Republican Senator Dave Durenberg speculated in a press interview that the national Republican leadership is funding Coleman's endless appeals "just to keep the Democrat out of the Senate."
Even a columnist at the ultra-conservative National Review posted a one-line statement to his blog earlier this week: "I think it's time for him to give up this fight."
Our simple message - it's time for Norm Coleman to concede - is starting to take hold. If you haven't added your voice, it's not too late.
Losing votes, court cases, and the confidence of your supporters is bad enough, but Norm Coleman could soon be facing much bigger problems. Politico has the story:
Separate and apart from the ongoing legal dispute over November's election, the Minnesota Republican faces several unresolved investigations: a reported FBI probe into his dealings with Nasser Kazeminy, a friend and benefactor; a potential Senate Ethics Committee inquiry into his Capitol Hill living arrangements; a federal elections investigation into his use of campaign donations for legal expenses; and a possible state probe into his campaign's handling of donors' financial information on its website.
That's four ethics investigations in one paragraph! And even if Coleman wasn't about to lose his court case, none of these ethics probes are going away. Consider that for the first time this week - after months of denials - Coleman refused to answer definitively whether he was under federal investigation.
Dodging a question like that is never a good sign.
Polling update
Two good polls for Democrats have been released in the last couple of weeks. In Missouri, Democratic Secretary of State Robin Carnahan leads both declared candidate and former House Republican Whip Roy Blunt and undeclared candidate and former State Treasurer Sarah Steelman.
In New Hampshire, Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes possesses the early lead in a matchup against former Republican Senator John Sununu. The six-point margin sounds even better when you consider that Hodes only represented half the state, whereas Sununu lost a heated, statewide battle for reelection just last year.
Sununu isn't an official candidate yet, but the Republican bench is very shallow in New Hampshire. Many observers have speculated that he will be eventual Republican nominee. It's great news that he would be starting the race at a serious disadvantage.
It is, of course, still very early in the election cycle. We all know that the shape of these races could change rapidly based on outside events. But at this point, things are looking very promising for our Democratic candidates in Missouri and New Hampshire.
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