Campaigns

Franken campaign decries frivolous challenges

Al Franken’s campaign believes it’s spotted a pattern of frivolity in their opponent’s ballot challenges. “And that pattern is that if you vote for John McCain, it is inconceivable — inconceivable — that you didn’t also intend to vote for Norm Coleman,” said Marc Elias, the Franken team’s lead recount attorney, weilding a stack of ten challenged ballots at a press conference today. “I tihnk it’s clear now, at least in some instances, there are challenges being lodged that are clearly frivolous.”

Norm Coleman: ‘I’m a winner’ and ‘most challenges will be dismissed’

U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman broke his silence on the recount in Minnesota’s election for the seat he holds today, saying “I’m a winner” and predicting that most of the mounting number of challenged ballots — including his campaign’s apparently — will be dismissed. Of the Coleman and Al Franken campaigns’ increasingly aggressive ballot challenges, Coleman said, “There are games being played on both sides and it would be great if people put the games aside.” He disavowed personal involvement in the recount’s nitty-gritty — “I’m not involved in day-to-day recount stuff” — but offered this apparently informed opinion: “I would bet that most of the challenges are going to be dismissed.”

Hi ho, Nate Silver! If recount’s ballot challenges rise exponentially, they’ll hit 2,500

Simple math tells us that if the Al Franken forces and the Norm Coleman camp keep ramping up the ballot challenges, they’ll reach a combined total of 1,732 challenged ballots by the end of Minnesota’s U.S. Senate recount. That’s if each campaign continues to increase its number of challenges in the neighborhood of 140 per [...]

WSJ: Franken campaign trying to ’steal’ election

When the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal last weighed in on Minnesota’s still-undecided Senate race, it was frothing about supposedly nefarious behavior by local election officials that was threatening the integrity of the process. Yesterday the lead recount attorney for Al Franken’s campaign, Marc Elias, wrote in to correct the record.
Now the WSJ [...]

Video: Palin discusses turkey pardon in front of slaughter-in-progress

Getting into the Thanksgiving spirit, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin pardoned a turkey yesterday, but afterwards, she stopped to speak with MSNBC about it in an unfortunate spot — just in front of a hatchery employee who was slaughtering the birds. Knowing what’s going on just behind her, Palin’s talk of a “brutal campaign,” her answer [...]

Recount roundup: Rigged results, Ritchie the Red — and more

A roundup of recent recount tidbits: The Strib on why Republicans may claim “we wuz robbed,” the resurgence of the Ritchie’s-a-Commie attack, Norm Coleman’s forced hockey metaphor, and more.

Challenged ballots on pace to top 1,700 after Day Two of recount

Two days into Minnesota’s statewide election recount, Al Franken and Sen. Norm Coleman are challenging ballots at a pace that could end up sending more than 1,700 disputed votes to the state’s Canvassing Board to sort out: Coleman’s crowd has challenged 374 so far, Franken’s 360. As that number grows, the margin between the rival candidates has shrunk, with 42.33 percent of ballots already recounted. New figures from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office indicate that Coleman’s lead now stands at 129. It’s only a snapshot in a process that hasn’t yet reached the halfway mark, but it’s a snapshot in which the vaunted Coleman “victory” appears to be fading fast.

Rybak likes idea of White House urban policy czar — enough to be it?

Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis did an excellent job today on Minnesota Public Radio of extolling the virtues of the proposed urban policy officein President-elect Barack Obama’s White House. He did a fairly miserable job of professing a lack of interest in whether Obama might offer him the job running it.
It’s a red-tape-cutting position that [...]

Franken picks up votes in GOP areas

The campaign of Democrat Al Franken today trumpeted net gains during the first day of Minnesota’s U.S. Senate election recount even in Republican-leaning parts of the state. “We have reason to be optimistic,” recount attorney Marc Elias told reporters at an afternoon press conference. “We are picking up votes across the state.” The candidate himself — seldom seen locally since recount gears began turning — shared that view, according to communications director Andy Barr. “Al is cautiously optimistic,” Barr said.

MnIndy video: Coleman’s staff ejects reporter from press conference

U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman’s campaign staff ejected a Minnesota Independent reporter from a press conference at campaign headquarters Wednesday afternoon. The MnIndy reporter made it as far as the inside of a small press conference room at a drab office park in St. Paul when a staffer asked who he represented and on that basis said the reporter would have to leave. In response to protests that MnIndy is a news outlet like others in the room, the staffer replied, “Right, and it’s funded by George Soros,” and escorted the reporter out. It’s the fourth time the senator’s campaign has denied access to local independent media at a media availability. Video (think “Blair Witch Project,” set in a boring office interior) after the jump. Spoiler alert: Norm’s door is extremely squeaky.