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Norm Coleman concedes Minnesota Senate race to Al Franken
Republican Norm Coleman has conceded to Democrat Al Franken in the Minnesota Senate race, ending one of the longest Senate races in American history and clearing the way for Democrats to hold a 60-seat supermajority in the Senate.Coelman's concession, given from the front of his St. Paul home, came just a few hours after the Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously ruled Franken the winner of last November's Senate race. In a unanimous 5-0 decision, the court upheld a three-judge panel's April 14 ruling that Franken defeated Republican Norm Coleman in the race by 312 votes out of 2.9 million cast. The 32-page opinion was remarkably decisive, picking apart and rejecting one Coleman legal claim after another. In its final line of the ruling, the state Supreme Court said Franken is "entitled" under Minnesota law to "receive the certificate election as United States senator from the state of Minnesota." "The Supreme Court of Minnesota has spoken and I respect its decision and will abide by the result," Coleman said. "It's time for Minnesota to come together under the leaders it has chosen and move forward. I join all Minnesotans in congratulating our newest United States Senator -- Al Franken. Coleman's concession means that Gov. Tim Pawlenty can easily sign an election certificate in the interim. Posted by: Fred 2009-07-01 |
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