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With news that Democratic candidate Mark Begich has taken the lead from incumbent GOP Senator Ted Stevens in Alaska's Senate race, Republicans are beginning to visualize a nightmare scenario in which Democrats actually reach the goal of 60 Senate seats that would allow them to stop any GOP filibuster. The scenario runs like this: First, Republicans lose the Alaska seat. At least 15,000 provisional ballots and an estimated 20,000 mailed absentee ballots remain to be counted. Ominously for Republicans, Mr. Begich now holds an 814-vote lead after some 50,000 absentee ballots were counted this week. The race could remain undecided...

IF Al Franken wins his Minnesota race, Democrats will get at least 58 US senators, giving them an effectively filibuster-proof majority. When Franken woke up on the day after the election, his GOP opponent, Sen. Norm Coleman, led by what seemed a relatively comfortable 725 votes. By that night, Coleman's lead had shrunk to 477. By Thursday, it was 336. Friday, 239. By late Sunday, the difference had gone to just 221. When counties finally certified the results on Monday, Coleman's lead had been cut to 206. A pickup of 519 votes over 5 days - pretty impressive when you...

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is poised to become the next chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, after Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota dropped his leadership bid. The post is influential because the chairmen recruits candidates and raises money for them. But Coleman remains locked in a tight race to hold his seat, separated from Democrat Al Franken by 206 votes out of nearly 3 million cast, with a recount expected to begin next week. Cornyn won re-election handily Nov. 4. Coleman called Cornyn on Thursday to drop out and support his rival. Coleman has backed off his bid...

Just saw Brit, Mara, Fred and Mort talking about the Minn. senate race. They were all laughing about it and agreeing that it looks irregular. It doesn't look funny to me. It looks like blatant fraud and smells like acorn. Any thoughts?

After local county elections officials verified 2.9 million votes in the Minnesota U.S. Senate race, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's lead over DFL challenger Al Franken shrank to a whisper, the difference settling Monday at a mere 206 votes. Elections officials in Minnesota's 87 counties had until Monday to finalize their results, which will now be forwarded to the state for approval. After that, one of the most closely watched recounts in state history will get under way, even as maneuvering over the recount — and the rhetoric surrounding it — continues to escalate. The Coleman campaign on Monday accused Franken...

After a weekend of no change, Monday morning brings another 17 "missing" or "uncounted" votes falling into Carpetbagger Al's column - and the full recount hasn't even f***ing started yet! These amended numbers are coming from the various county auditors as they check ballots before submitting 'em to the Secretary of State for the full recount. At thispoint, I do not know what county these votes could have come from - but I suspect they're from a county that Barack Hussein Obama and Carpetbagger Al won. I'll let you know when I hear more!

One thing is certain: the final margin in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race is not certain. On Wednesday morning Sen. Norm Coleman led Al Franken by 725 votes. By Wednesday night the lead was 477 votes. By Thursday night it was 336. As of Sunday night, it's 221. Coleman's campaign manager has called the changes "statistically dubious and improbable." But Hamline University professor David Schultz says the changes are not unusual because counties are double checking for errors right now. "If you look at past elections in Minnesota, the difference of what happens on election day and what's eventually certified can...

A Ramsey County judge has denied a bid by lawyers representing Sen. Norm Coleman's campaign to delay the opening of 32 absentee ballots from Minneapolis. Last update: November 9, 2008 - 7:31 AM A Ramsey County judge on Saturday denied a bid by lawyers representing U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman's campaign to delay the opening of 32 absentee ballots from Minneapolis. The request touched off a fresh war of words in a Senate race where 221 votes separate Republican Coleman and DFLer Al Franken in unofficial tallies. The 32 Minneapolis ballots were part of the normal delivery of absentee ballots late...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An Associated Press analysis of votes in the tight, still-to-be decided race for a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota shows that most ballots lacking a recorded choice in the election were cast in counties won by Democrat Barack Obama. The finding could have implications for Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken, who are headed for a recount separated by the thinnest of margins — a couple of hundred votes, or about 0.01 percent. About 25,000 ballots statewide carried votes for president but not for the Senate race. Although some voters might have intentionally...

In the Coleman-Franken Senate recount battle developing in Minnesota, almost all media accounts fail to mention that Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, who largely controls the process, is not only a liberal Democrat, but also an ally of ACORN and liberal philanthropist George Soros. Even fewer media outlets report the fact that both Ritchie and fellow Democrat Al Franken were endorsed by ACORN. Ritchie, like so many liberals, is dismissive of electoral fraud allegations in general. He failed to investigate claims by a conservative group about voter roll irregularities. (See "SOS in Minnesota," American Spectator, Nov. 7, 2008) The...

In amended counting today, Coleman gained 2 votes and is now up by 238 votes. 2 votes is not many - but I'd rather gain 2 votes than lose 2 votes. If there's an update later today, I'll let all of you know! Think Positive Thoughts! Cross Your Fingers! Pray! Hire a Shaman! Purchase an Al Franken Voodoo Doll!

As Democrats nationwide try to make the climb to a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate by pursuing recounts, an outspoken ACORN ally presides over the tallying of votes in the still-unresolved Minnesota Senate race. The fact that Mark Ritchie, a Democrat and former community organizer, largely controls the electoral process in the Land of 10,000 Lakes may be important. That's because at press time incumbent Republican Norm Coleman led Democrat Al Franken by just 341 votes and the Democrats controlled 57 seats in the Senate, compared to the Republicans' 40. The Senate races in Alaska and Georgia also have...

Markos Moulitsas notes that Norm Coleman's lead over Al Franken has been diminishing: A reader has been tracking vote results updates from the Minnesota's SoS office: 9:15 AM Coleman: 1,211,520 Franken: 1,211,077 10:15 AM Coleman: 1,211,525 Franken: 1,211,088 1:20 PM Coleman: 1,211,527 Franken: 1,211,190 That means the gap has gone down from 443, to 437, to 337 as provisional and other straggler ballots are counted. It was 477 votes last night. Coleman's lead is now down to 236 votes, but the gap is not tightening because "provisional and other straggler ballots" remain uncounted. According to the Minnesota Secretary of State's...

Markos Moulitsas notes that Norm Coleman's lead over Al Franken has been diminishing: A reader has been tracking vote results updates from the Minnesota's SoS office: 9:15 AM Coleman: 1,211,520 Franken: 1,211,077 10:15 AM Coleman: 1,211,525 Franken: 1,211,088 1:20 PM Coleman: 1,211,527 Franken: 1,211,190 That means the gap has gone down from 443, to 437, to 337 as provisional and other straggler ballots are counted. It was 477 votes last night. Coleman's lead is now down to 236 votes, but the gap is not tightening because "provisional and other straggler ballots" remain uncounted. According to the Minnesota Secretary of...

Democrat Al Franken, locked in an overtime election battle with incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, said today that he is pushing ahead with the recount of Tuesday's voting. "No, no," Franken said in an interview on Minnesota Public Radio late this morning, when asked whether he'll waive his right to a recount, as Coleman has urged him to do. "This is the closest Senate race in Minnesota history. This is just part of the process to make sure that every vote is counted fairly." If the recount confirms that he has come up short, Franken said, "I'll be the first...

Sen. Norm Coleman late this morning declared victory for a second term from Minnesota, even as the wheels are churning toward an automatic recount of the nearly 3 million votes cast in his battle with Democrat Al Franken. The Republican, whose margin in the unofficial state tally stands at 725 votes, said from his headquarters in St. Paul that he is "humbled and grateful for the victory that the voters gave us last night." He then said Franken should abandon any pursuit of a recount, saying that "the prospect of overturning 725 votes is extremely, extremely, extremely remote." Franken could...

Senator Coleman needs your help immediately! I am sure you have heard the news already that Senator Norm Coleman has a very tight lead in his race against Al Franken. Because the race was so close, by state law there must be a recount. Team Coleman is in URGENT need of volunteers to serve at precincts throughout Minnesota to observe the recount process. It's imperative they locate 150-200 people who can take personal time from their respective jobs and lives and be deployed on behalf of Senator Coleman. If you live in Minnesota, they need your help! If you live...

These are crucial races for us, particularly the senate races: Coleman MN-Sen: Coleman leads by about 500 votes. This one looks like it's headed for a recount. How (or will) this change the outcome? Chambliss GA-Sen: Chambliss is leading by 1% or so. He may have dipped below 50%, and if so, we're headed for a runoff. McClintock CA-04: McClintock is leading by about 600 votes or so with 100% of the precincts in, but there are about 4000 ballots yet to be counted. Stevesn AK-Sen: Stevens is up by about 4,000 votes, with about 40,000 absentee and provisional ballots...

In a tense, final confrontation less than 36 hours before the polls open, Minnesota's U.S. Senate candidates blasted one another Sunday over allegations and countercharges that have threatened to consume the contest in its closing week. Debate moderator Gary Eichten, of Minnesota Public Radio, went right to the heart of the controversy in the opening moments of the debate, asking Sen. Norm Coleman point blank: "For the record, have you or your family received any money or gifts from friends, associates or supporters that you haven't reported to the U.S. Senate?" "The answer to that is just no, Gary," Coleman...

The Minnesota U.S. Senate race remains a tossup on the final weekend of the campaign, with the outcome likely to be decided by who can snatch away the most voters from third-party contender Dean Barkley. A new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll shows DFLer Al Franken clinging to a slim lead over Republican Sen. Norm Coleman among likely voters, 42 percent to 38 percent. That's within the poll's 4.1 percentage point margin of sampling error. Independence Party candidate Barkley, who held steady at 18 percent in the two previous Minnesota Polls, slipped three points to 15 percent. The fluid nature of...

As some pundits predict thunderclouds gathering on the horizon for incumbent Senate Republicans, a new NBC poll shows that Sen. Norm Coleman may be positioned to ride out the storm. The results from the poll of likely voters, conducted by Mason-Dixon October 27-28, have Coleman leading opponent Al Franken by six points, 42-36, with 12% of respondents favoring Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley. One in ten Minnesotans are undecided. If Coleman puts daylight between Franken’s numbers and his own on Election Day, he may have Barkley to thank. While he has shored up 89% of voters who identify as Republicans,...

AL FRANKEN’S ANTI-CATHOLICISM: MEDIA MATTERS JUSTIFIES HIS BIGOTRY October 27, 2008 A columnist for Media Matters, Eric Boehlert, posted a piece on October 25 criticizing an article by Katherine Kersten in the Minneapolis Star Tribune that took senatorial hopeful Al Franken to task for promoting anti-Catholicism. Here is a sampling of Franken’s virulent anti-Catholicism: · He has mocked the Eucharist · He has ridiculed the crucifixion of Jesus · He has slandered all priests as molesters · He has belittled practicing Catholics (e.g., Knights of Columbus) · He has disparaged the Church’s teaching on embryonic stem cell research · He...

ST. PAUL-- National Republicans are attacking Democrat Al Franken in a new pamphlet that looks like a comic book but discusses pornography and rape. Franken's opponent, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, is condemning the piece. Coleman is releasing an e-mail he sent to the National Republican Senatorial Committee that says the mailing "should have never made it to the mail." The opening page says, "Come on in kids ... Senator Franken's going to tell a few jokes ..." The booklet criticizes Franken for writing a Playboy column about pornography and brainstorming rape jokes for "Saturday Night Live." Democrats including former Vice...

ST. PAUL — Al Franken suggested he and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman agree on gun rights. “I support the 2nd Amendment,” Franken said. “I don’t think we’re any different on this.” Coleman shot that down. “That is a stunning statement,” he told the Democrat during a Friday night debate among Minnesota’s three major candidates for U.S. Senate. Coleman, locked in a tight battle with Franken, said his main opponent got a failing grade from the National Rifle Association and has suggested limiting gun ownership. “There’s no question that there’s significant differences,” Coleman said, touting his “A” rating from the NRA....

Count this newspaper among the Minnesota voices that long for a lessening of partisan polarization and a return to constructive problem-solving in Washington. If demonization of the partisan opposition continues to be the political coin of this realm, effectiveness of American democracy will be diminished. Independent judgment, exercised on behalf of the best interests of the country and state, is what we hope to see from our U.S. senators. With that hope in mind, this newspaper recommends the reelection of Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman. The more independent, pragmatic Coleman emerged when he helped speed money to Minneapolis for a...

Video: Sen. Coleman's home vandalized (see link below) When Laurie Coleman, wife of U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, hauled her trash to the alley at 7:30 Wednesday morning, a chilling sight greeted her. Sprayed in black on the wooden siding of the garage behind the couple's St. Paul home, in letters nearly a foot high: "U R A CRIMINAL RESIGN OR ELSE! PSALM 2" On the alley side, "SCUM" was scrawled across both garage stall doors and a wooden partition in between. The Colemans weren't alone. Vandals struck the garages and homes of five other Minnesota members of Congress late Tuesday...

With two weeks to go until Election Day, the exceptionally volatile and closely watched U.S. Senate race in Minnesota has tightened up. The latest Star Tribune Minnesota Poll shows DFLer Al Franken at 39 percent to Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's 36 percent. Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley was the choice of 18 percent of likely voters.

“I don’t blame the Army for our son’s death; I just blame the bad policies on President Bush and Norm Coleman who voted for this.” As a close-up of Major Anderson’s dog tags fade into the background, Mr. Anderson says firmly, “He’s just gotta go; he’s just gotta go.” The “he” in the television ad is Republican senior Senator Norm Coleman, who voted for the Iraq war. This is one of the many ads put out by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) on behalf of Al Franken, former Saturday Night Live writer running for Senate in Minnesota. Incidentally, the...

Yesterday SurveyUSA came out with a poll showing Norm Coleman beating Al Franken by ten points: 43 to 33. Today the Minnesota Star-Tribune released a poll showing the opposite: Franken leading Coleman by nine. According to the Star-Tribune survey, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, Franken leads Coleman 43 to 34. The only thing the polls agree on is the support for Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley. SurveyUSA has him winning 19% of the vote, the Strib has him winning 18%.

Franken pulls ahead in new Minn. poll By HARRY SIEGEL | 10/4/08 12:02 PM EDT Text Size: A new Star Tribune Minnesota poll released yesterday shows a 13-point jump in support in the last month for Democratic comedian-turned-politician Al Franken, who now has his first clear lead, 43 percent to 34 percent, in the much-watched race against Minnesota incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman. The Star Tribune poll also shows support for the relatively low-profile campaign of Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley at a high watermark of 18 percent, with most of his support drawn from Coleman, in what may be...

DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken has moved into his first solid lead over incumbent Republican Norm Coleman, according to a new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll. The survey, conducted Tuesday through Thursday by Princeton Survey Research Associates International among 1,084 likely Minnesota voters, shows Franken leading Coleman 43 to 34 percent. Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley is supported by 18 percent of respondents. Franken’s lead is outside the poll’s margin of sampling error, plus or minus 3.7 points. For Coleman, there is little good news in the poll. The number of voters who view him unfavorably continues to grow, the...

After months of showing the U.S. Senate race as a statistical dead heat, the latest SurveyUSA poll finds Norm Coleman with a solid 10-point lead. The incumbent draws support from 43 percent of respondents, with Democrat Al Franken trailing at 33 percent. Perhaps most notable, however, is the strong showing of Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley. Despite his late entry into the race and raising almost no money, Barkley garners support from 19 percent of those polled. Assessments of the IP candidate’s strength have varied widely in recent weeks. A pair of polls last month showed him in double digits,...

Senator Norm Coleman says he'll vote for a $700 billion financial industry bailout, arguing that Congress has no choice but to act.

Norm Coleman continues to lead Al Franken,

If you're not a Minnesota, you probably haven't seen the blizzard of TV commercials emanating from Norm Coleman's and Al Franken's campaigns for the US Senate. Trust me, these ads are bare-knuckled. The first one is an attack ad by Coleman. The second is a rebuttal ad by Al Franken. And the third is a rebuttal by Coleman to Franken's rebuttal. Watch them in the exact order below... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJUxtfSdaX0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hZxxEKmJaY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nETYU-znTA

The Senate race in Minnesota has gotten close, and that has apparently led to frustration on the part of Al Franken's supporters. I can think of no other reason that they would resort to such a despicable advertisement as the one they're starting to run:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl5hwE8ffgg

In the ad, "Excuses," eight-year-old Allison tells the camera that, like Al Franken, she doesn't pay taxes, but unlike Al Franken, she knows that Al's excuse for not paying taxes doesn't work -- not even in third grade.

Republican Sen. Norm Coleman said Wednesday he would give away $20,000 in campaign contributions because they came from a political action committee tied to indicted Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. The decision comes as Coleman's Democratic challenger, Al Franken, began airing a statewide radio ad highlighting ties between Coleman and Stevens. Coleman's campaign manager Cullen Sheehan said the senator will donate the money to childhood cancer research. The specific recipients haven't been selected, a campaign official said. His decision follows that of at least five other Republican senators who are shedding contributions from Stevens' Northern Lights PAC. "The senator believes firmly...

Warning: The following contains extreme vulgarity by a candidate for the U.S. Senate. In the razor-close and nationally important Senate race in Minnesota, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman is presented with a unique political problem. Should he raise in his ads the issue of comedian Al Franken's offensive vulgarity? Or would this risk a backlash against Coleman for coarsening the public conversation? Remember that when Ken Starr detailed Bill Clinton's most repulsive antics -- stained dresses and such -- it was Starr who was accused of sexual obsessiveness. Franken's defenders explain that his edginess is the result of being a "satirist"...

Former Gov. Jesse Ventura would trim support from both Sen. Norm Coleman and Coleman's DFL challenger, Al Franken, if he were to enter the U.S. Senate race, a Survey USA poll has found. The poll of 700 Minnesota adults, taken last week, showed Coleman winning a three-way match over Franken and Ventura. Forty-one percent of poll respondents said they would support Coleman, compared with 31 percent for Franken and 23 percent for Ventura. The margin of error on that question was plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. If Ventura doesn't enter the race, 52 percent said they support Coleman and...

Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken opened the next phase of his campaign to unseat Republican Norm Coleman by hammering the senator on his past allegiance to President Bush. Franken appeared at a state Capitol rally Monday with several top Democrats and congressional candidates, exchanging handshakes and pleasantries with some who hadn't been behind him until after he won his party's endorsement last weekend. Franken is staging a week-long tour of Minnesota. The humorist who made it big on "Saturday Night Live" said he expects Republicans to use his past off-color material against him. But Franken said he'll be reminding voters...

Senate candidate Al Franken's satirical and explicit take on virtual sex and other topics, published in Playboy magazine eight years ago, is drawing concern instead of laughter from some Minnesota Democrats. Rep. Betty McCollum, who supported the comedian's rival Mike Ciresi until he dropped out of the race for the party's nomination for the Senate, complained Thursday that she and other Minnesota Democrats will be on the same November ballot as a candidate "who has pornographic writings that are indefensible." "Do they spend all of their time defending him, or do they spend their time talking about issues that are...

A Republican U.S. senator said Tuesday he will try to block a U.S.-Russia civilian nuclear power deal if President Bush sends it to Congress, because he fears it could undermine efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation in Iran. Sen. Norm Coleman said he is teaming with Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh in circulating a letter that will urge Bush not to send the pact to Congress. Under the deal signed Tuesday, the United States would get access to Russian state-of-the art nuclear technology. The pact would help Russia establish an international nuclear fuel storage facility by importing and storing spent fuel. The...

In his tranquil suburban neighborhood, Brodkorb for the last year has used his blog "Minnesota Democrats Exposed" to launch a furious political assault on Franken. He's labeled the former comedian and liberal commentator a "mean-spirited and un-Minnesotan" candidate who's running a "desperate and ridiculous" campaign. That's routine stuff in the world of political blogging, but in the last two months Brodkorb has scored two direct hits that have the Franken campaign reeling. Brodkorb scooped the traditional media by detailing extensive bookkeeping problems in New York and California that ultimately prompted Franken, this week, to pay about $70,000 in back taxes...

Attorney Mike Ciresi said this afternoon that he is dropping out of the race for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in Minnesota. His decision leaves political satirist and commentator Al Franken and University of St. Thomas professor Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer as the leading Democratic candidates seeking to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

The Bush administration has granted Somalis living in the United States under temporary protected status an extra 18 months in this country. It's the second such extension granted by the Department of Homeland Security in the last two years. The first one was granted in 2006 and expires later this month. The new extension will apply through September of next year. Generally, those eligible for temporary protected status are unable to safely return to their home countries because of armed conflict, environmental disasters or other extraordinary conditions. Senator Norm Coleman pushed for the latest extension. Minnesota is believed to have...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman has endorsed John McCain for president. The announcement came from McCain's campaign Sunday, two days before caucuses are held in Minnesota and more than 20 other states. Coleman had supported former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani before Giuliani dropped out of the race. In a news release, Coleman calls McCain "an effective leader who is the best person to lead the fight against radical Islamic extremism." Coleman joins Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty in endorsing McCain, who holds a strong lead in Minnesota over his rivals. A Minnesota Public Radio and Humphrey Institute poll...

The Minnesota Public Radio News/Humphrey Institute Poll indicates DFL Senate candidate Al Franken poses more of a re-election threat to Republican Sen. Norm Coleman than any of the other DFL candidates. The poll indicates that if the election were today Coleman and Franken would be in a statistical dead heat. The poll took the pulse of 917 Minnesota residents over a one- week period that ended Sunday. It shows Coleman 5 points ahead of DFLer Mike Ciresi, and gives Coleman double-digit leads over Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and Jim Cohen who dropped out of the race Friday. University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute...

WARNING: Due to the offensive nature of these remarks, citations supporting Al Franken’s comments in the video are available by request only.

Even as Al Franken stretches out his big doughy hand to another potential voter inside Nina’s Coffee Cafe on a recent morning, it is easy to forget that Mr. Franken, the former “Saturday Night Live” star, the satirist and author, the liberal radio host, is trying to be elected to the United States Senate. “They should be allowing more dogs in places,” Mr. Franken deadpans to the voter, “dogs in grocery stores, dogs in hardware stores.” Would-be senators do not usually meander into such lines of conversation. Nor do they make up silly songs incorporating the names on their list...