Paul Demko

U.S. Senate recount: What’s next?

Al Franken won the U.S. Senate contest by 225 votes. That was the determination that the five-member State Canvassing Board put their signatures to on Monday. Franken duly declared victory, pronouncing himself the “next senator from Minnesota.”

But as subsequent events have made abundantly clear that doesn’t mean the never-ending Senate contest is over. Indeed the legal contest filed by Norm Coleman’s campaign on Tuesday means it could still drag on for months. Here’s a quick primer on what will unfold in the coming weeks.

Daily Beast: ‘Franken is the right’s new punching bag’

The Daily Beast has a provocative piece up today theorizing that Sen. Al Franken might be just the remedy for an ailing Republican Party. Writer Benjamin Sarlin posits that Franken presents exactly the type of frothing, over-the-top liberalism that the GOP needs to demonize Democrats as out of touch with mainstream Americans. He cites Franken’s [...]

Chief Justice will recuse himself from Coleman contest

Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson will recuse himself from participating in Norm Coleman’s legal contest of the U.S. Senate race, according to John Kostouros, Communications Director for the state’s Court Information Office. Under Minnesota law, the Chief Justice is charged with naming a three-judge panel to oversee the legal dispute. But since Magnuson [...]

Few Minnesota donors for inauguration

Barack Obama’s inaugural committee has raised more than $27 million so far for inaugural festivities, putting the organization on pace to hit its goal of at least $40 million. More than 1,200 individuals have made contributions of $200 or more, but just four are Minnesota residents, according to a list of donors maintained by the committee.

Senate Democrats rebuff proposed postage stamp reduction

How many postage stamps does it take to run a state Senate office? That was the sticky issue debated today during the opening Senate session of 2009. Noting the emergence of email as a tool to communicate with constituents, along with the state’s looming $4.8 billion deficit, Sen. Amy Koch (pictured) proposed that the number of stamps allocated to each legislator be reduced from 5,500 to 3,500. “This is not a big cost savings,” the Republican from Buffalo acknowledged, “but I did a little math and it’s over $56,000.”

Franken deemed winner of Senate recount, but Coleman will contest in court

Al Franken has emerged from the Senate recount with a 225-vote lead over incumbent Norm Coleman. The five-member State Canvassing Board unanimously certified the results at a hearing Monday afternoon. Nearly two months after the election, and following a painstaking statewide manual recount of nearly three million ballots, Franken received 1,212,431 votes, while Coleman earned 1,212,206.

CQ Politics: Dems may try to seat Franken tomorrow

Democrats will attempt to seat Al Franken as a U.S. senator tomorrow with the rest of the freshman class, according to a report in Congressional Quarterly. The State Canvassing Board is expected to name Franken the winner, by just 225 votes, when it convenes this afternoon.
The election will not be certified, however, for at least [...]

Coleman as RNC chairman?

The state canvassing board is expected to name Al Franken the winner of the U.S. Senate contest when it convenes this afternoon. This milestone, however, will almost certainly not mark the final chapter in the never-ending recount. Norm Coleman’s campaign has stated that it will contest the result in court, arguing that various improprieties — [...]

It’s just a cracker

Congrats to PZ Myers. The caustic and often hilarious University of Minnesota, Morris professor and Pharyngula blogger has won the (not so) coveted Moore Award. This annual honor is given out by Daily Dish proprietor Andrew Sullivan for “divisive, bitter and intemperate left-wing rhetoric.” What did Myers do to earn this distinction? He threatened a [...]

Can we please give the Senate seat to the ‘Crazy McCain Lady’?

Thanks for the memories. Now please go away. Yes, we’re talking about you, Rudy Giuliani. And you, Wolf Blitzer. We no longer wish to be a swing state. Henceforth the residents of the state of Minnesota promise to vote reliably Democratic. Or Republican. It doesn’t much matter which — just as long as you people promise to stop showing up in our little slice of the frozen tundra seeking to feel our pain. But to memorialize the horrors visited upon us during the (still ongoing) campaign season, we offer — in honor of our favorite member of the Statewide General Election Canvassing Board — the G. Barry Anderson Awards.