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Comedian Al Franken was declared the winner of the Minnesota Senate race today after the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected all of Sen. Norm Coleman's legal arguments that the recount had been unfair. Coleman conceded the race in the video below . . . . (Watch Video) . . . . The victory gives the Democrats 58 Senate seats, with two independents who virtually always vote with the Democrats. That equals a 60-vote super majority in the Senate if they all stick together. Sixty votes are enough to invoke cloture, which allows legislation to be brought to the floor. . ....

The National Republican Senatorial Committee spent nearly $1 million on Norm Coleman’s legal fees to back the Republican's appeals and draw out the Minnesota Senate race. But now that the state Supreme Court made its final ruling, NRSC Chairman John Cornyn said he "respects" Coleman's decision to concede: "Throughout the last several months, Senate Republicans have made clear that the people of Minnesota, not politicians in Washington, should decide this election. Now that the courts have spoken, I join Norm in respecting that decision and moving forward to address the important issues facing our country....

“I am deeply disappointed in the decision made by the state Supreme Court, and I share the frustration of Minnesota’s voters. At the core of our democracy lies two concrete principles: No valid vote should go uncounted and all votes should be treated equally. Sadly, those principles were not adhered to during this election. While I would have proudly stood behind Norm Coleman had he chosen to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, I know that his decision to withdraw from this race was not an easy one, but one that he felt was the best decision for the people...

In a 15-minute news conference, looking relaxed and upbeat, Norm Coleman congratulated Al Franken, reminisced about his 6-year term and the "longest election in Minnesota history" and didn't discuss the details of the rejected legal challenge. "We have reached the point where further litigation damages the unity of our state," Coleman said. "I congratulate Al Franken in his victory in his election." "The bottom line is that's history. I'm not looking back… We are a nation of laws, not men and women. The court has spoken.".... Moments later, Gov. Tim Pawlenty's office issued the following statement: "The Minnesota Supreme Court...

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 conceded at a news conference in St. Paul, a few hours after a unanimous Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Tuesday the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian and liberal commentator should be certified the winner..............

Coleman: the GOP's million-dollar man GOP senators, the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee insist that the Coleman challenge has been worth the money — for now. Over the past three months, the NRSC spent nearly $1 million to pay his legal bills, and since Election Day, Republican senators and the RNC have pumped in hundreds of thousands of dollars more. -snip- Coleman’s legal challenge has reached the Minnesota Supreme Court, but many legal experts believe that the court’s decision — expected any day — will affirm that Franken won last November’s election. If that happens, Coleman...

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled unanimously in favor of Al Franken in the disputed U.S. Senate race, according to Franken's attorney.

June 30, 2009 BREAKING: Minnesota's highest court rules for Al Franken Posted: 02:25 PM ET (CNN) — Minnesota's Supreme Court has dismissed former Sen. Norm Coleman's challenge to the state's November election results and declared Democratic challenger Al Franken the winner. The unanimous opinion ruled that Franken "received the highest number of votes legally cast" and is entitled "to receive the certificate of election as United States senator from the state of Minnesota." The former "Saturday Night Live" writer and performer had declared victory in the disputed race after a recount ended in January, but Coleman — a Republican who...

Al Franken confirmed to MN senate by MN supreme court.

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously ruled Al Franken the winner of last November's Senate race, putting the former "Saturday Night Live” star on the brink of becoming a United States senator and Democrats on the cusp of holding a dominant supermajority in the Senate. 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....

Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) said Sunday he has no plans for further delay in certifying the results of the state's disputed U.S. Senate election so that Republican Norm Coleman can pursue a federal court challenge. Pawlenty told CNN that he would abide by whatever ruling the Minnesota Supreme Court makes in the contest, where Democrat Al Franken appears to have an upper hand. "I'm prepared to sign [the certification] as soon as they give the green light," Pawlenty said. “I’m not going to defy an order of the Minnesota Supreme Court. That would be a dereliction of my duty."...

The National Republican Senatorial Committee spent almost $1 million last month on Republican Norm Coleman's attempt to win last year's U.S. Senate race. Coleman is attempting to overturn Democrat Al Franken's slender lead. The former senator's appeal of a trial court's decision that Franken won is awaiting a ruling from the Minnesota Supreme Court. That ruling could be issued any day. Last month, the NRSC spent $937,917 to help Coleman in that effort. Minneapolis law firm Dorsey & Whitney, home to Coleman attorney Jim Langdon, received $350,171 of that and Washington, D.C., law firm Patton Boggs, Coleman legal spokesman Ben...

PIM has now heard from two sources on different sides of the Minnesota U.S. Senate race recount scene that the final Minnesota Supreme Court ruling is expected to arrive tomorrow, Thursday, June 18th

GOP activist and blogger Michael Brodkorb has asked for copies of rejected absentee ballots from areas where for the most part Republican Norm Coleman ran strongly in the disputed November election for U.S. Senate... Statewide, local election officials rejected about 12,000 absentee ballots on Election Day for failing to meet legal requirements. Nearly 1,300 were eventually deemed legal after reconsideration by the officials, representatives of Coleman and fellow Senate candidate Al Franken, and judges who heard the U.S. Senate trial. But the rest remain excluded because the judges said they lacked evidence they were cast by registered voters or met...

Minn. court orders Coleman to pay $95K to Franken 18 hours ago ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Republican Norm Coleman must pay Democrat Al Franken $94,783 to cover court costs for his appeal of Minnesota Senate election results. A Ramsey County court administrator entered the judgment Wednesday. It results from the two-month trial that ended with Coleman 312 votes short of Franken.

A review of Minnesota’s statewide database of registered voters revealed at least 2,812 deceased individuals voted in last November’s general election, according to a new report by the “traditional values” advocacy group Minnesota Majority. After obtaining the list of voters who participated in November’s election, the group hired an independent firm who specializes in “death suppression” for direct mailing lists to review the data. The process, which involved matching names and addresses to state death records, bore troubling results. According to Minnesota statute 201.13, the commissioner of health is to report monthly the name, address, date of birth, and county...

Senate Republican leaders appear willing to go to the mat for former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), but it's unclear whether Coleman wants to go to the mat for himself. The Minnesota Supreme Court is expected to rule within weeks on whether Democrat Al Franken bested Coleman in the long- contested 2008 Senate race. Republicans said they were ready to protest any Democratic leadership attempts to seat Franken — if the court rules him the victor — until Coleman either exhausts his appeals process in the federal courts or decides to throw in the towel. Cornyn and Senate Republican Conference Vice...

Norm Coleman had an unusual escort to yesterday's Supreme Court hearing on the Minnesota recount, a sharp-eyed MinnPost reporter found: Like an Agatha Christie mystery, all the key players arrived on the scene, as if reprising their performances since the recount began. Friedberg, the dapper, 72-year-old Minneapolis defense lawyer, showed up by 8:15 a.m., 45 minutes before the start of the argument, wearing his father's lucky cufflinks and spraying throat-soothing liquid into his laryngitis-afflicted throat. Soon after, Coleman himself walked in, accompanied by his criminal defense lawyer Doug Kelley, who is handling any matters related to an ongoing FBI investigation...

And now, again, we wait. This wait, though, is different. This time, Minnesota's U.S. Senate race is in the hands of five state Supreme Court justices. The state has grown uncomfortably accustomed to waiting in the nearly seven months since voters went to the polls. And voters, who have been represented by just one senator since January, still don't know for sure if Democrat Al Franken or Republican Norm Coleman will walk those hallowed Senate halls. But in a race that has lasted weeks past its expected expiration date, Monday was a big day.

Republican Norm Coleman's legal team on Monday faced a skeptical audience of five Minnesota Supreme Court justices, who could be his last lifeline to prevent Democrat Al Franken from being seated as the state's junior senator. During the one-hour proceeding, the five justices peppered Coleman attorney Joe Friedberg with pointed questions on whether the campaign had provided enough evidence to prove that Coleman would have won the election if additional absentee ballots were included. Justice Christopher Dietzen, an appointee of Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty who is considered to be the court's most conservative judge, said during the hearing that Coleman's...