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Senate leaders may swear Al Franken in this week, even as Sen. Norm Coleman’s (R-Minn.) campaign vowed to move forward with a challenge to the Democrat’s victory.
A recount panel on Monday made Franken’s 225-vote win official, as expected, one day before new members are sworn in.
But the challenge from Coleman would muddy the waters and could prevent Franken from being seated for the time being.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the Senate would not attempt to seat Franken on Tuesday and brushed aside any comparisons to Roland Burris, who was tapped to fill President-elect Obama’s Senate seat amid a scandal with Illinois’ governor.
“There are two different laws — Illinois works much differently than does Minnesota,” Reid said. “In Minnesota, Franken has won election. [Norm] Coleman is going to contest that, but Coleman will never, ever serve in the Senate. He’s lost the election. He can stall things, but he’ll never serve in the Senate again.”
Even if he’s not seated on Tuesday, Democratic sources suggest Franken could be seated soon.
But Coleman’s campaign said late Monday afternoon that it would contest the election results within 24 hours.
“The actions today by the canvassing board are but the first step in what, unfortunately, will now have to be a longer process,” Coleman lawyer Tony Trimble said. “This process isn’t at the end; it is now just at the beginning.”
The incumbent will make a statement on Tuesday afternoon, his campaign said.
Franken, meanwhile, declared the recount fair and himself a senator.
“After 62 days, after the careful and painstaking hand inspection of nearly 3 million ballots, after hours and hours of hard work by elections officials and volunteers across the state, I am proud and humbled to stand before you as the next senator from Minnesota,” Franken said.
Coleman’s lawyers face an uphill battle in their suit, and Democrats sought over the past few days to discourage the incumbent from prolonging the already two-month-old drama.
Minnesota state law provides a seven-day window in which an election result can be contested, and the result is not officially certified until the contest is resolved.
As of press time Monday, it was not yet clear whether the Democratic leadership would try to seat Franken some point this week.
A senior Democratic aide left the door open for Franken to be seated later in the week, even without certification. But the aide later stressed that the leadership had not yet finalized its strategy.
If Democrats do attempt to seat Franken, Republicans are promising a filibuster.
Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the new chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), said Friday that he didn’t think any Republicans would defect on a filibuster, which would keep Franken from being seated.
Cornyn’s counterpart, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), suggested Franken should be seated.
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