Republican Norm Coleman Concedes the Election (w/VIDEO links)
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Republican Norm Coleman has conceded to Democrat Al Franken in Minnesota's contested Senate race, ending a nearly eight-month recount and court fight.
Coleman announced his decision at a news conference in St. Paul, hours after a unanimous Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Franken, a former "Saturday Night Live" comedian and liberal commentator, should be certified the winner.
"The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results," Coleman told reporters outside his St. Paul home.
Coleman, appearing relaxed and upbeat, said he had congratulated Franken, was at peace with the decision and had no regrets about the fight, which started almost immediately after the Nov. 4 election.
"Sure I wanted to win," said Coleman, who called the ruling a surprise. "I thought we had a better case. But the court has spoken."
He declined to talk about his future plans, brushing aside a question about whether he would run for governor in 2010.
Franken's presence in the Senate would give the Democrats control of 60 seats, enough to overcome any Republican filibuster if they stay united.
Could be seated next week
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the earliest Franken would be seated is next week, because the Senate is out of session for the July 4 holiday.
The court wrote in its 5-0 ruling: "We affirm the decision of the trial court that Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast and is entitled under (Minnesota law) to receive the certificate of election as United States Senator from the State of Minnesota."
President Barack Obama said in a statement, "I look forward to working with Senator-Elect Franken to build a new foundation for growth and prosperity by lowering health care costs and investing in the kind of clean energy jobs and industries that will help America lead in the 21st century."
Coleman ruled out seeking federal court intervention, even though he has 10 days before the ruling takes effect in which to point out any errors related to the court's interpretation of law, facts or material questions in the case.
Former Saturday Night Live star
Franken, a former Saturday Night Live star making the leap from life as a left-wing author and radio talker to the Senate, planned a news conference later Tuesday and didn't immediately comment.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty, whose signature is required on the election certificate Franken needs to be seated, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Pawlenty, a Republican, has said he would sign the certificate if ordered to do so by the court. The court's ruling stopped short of explicitly ordering the governor to sign the document, saying only that Franken was "entitled" to it.
Coleman's appeal hinged largely on whether thousands of absentee votes had been unfairly rejected by local election officials around the state.
The unanimous court wrote that "because the legislature established absentee voting as an optional method of voting, voters choosing to use that method are required to comply with the statutory provisions."
They went on to say that "because strict compliance with the statutory requirements for absentee voting is, and always has been required, there is no basis on which voters could have reasonably believed that anything less than strict compliance would suffice."
Source
Sorry, having embed fail issues. Here are the Cspan links to Coleman's concession speech, and Franken's follow up speech.
Coleman: http://tinyurl.com/n2chow
Franken: http://tinyurl.com/ng88up
I have to admit Coleman was (finally) very gracious in his very belated concession speech. Buh-bye now.