Al Franken Wins Disputed Minnesota Senate Race

At long last, the ongoing U.S. Senate race between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken ended yesterday, with Coleman conceding and Franken taking a long overdue seat in the Senate. The eight-month recount, coupled with a courtroom drama that would make Floridians blush and Franken’s win, gives Democrats control of 60 seats in the U.S. Senate. Said Franken, "When you win an election this close, you know not one bit of effort went to waste. The way I see it, I’m not going to Washington to be the 60th Democratic senator, I’m going to Washington to be the second senator from Minnesota."

The concession from Coleman came shortly after a unanimous vote by the Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that Franken should be named the winner. When all the dust settled, the election was decided by 312 votes, while almost 2.8 million were cast. Franken also noted, "Franni and I are so thrilled that we can finally celebrate this victory. I can’t wait to get started."

Speaking about the election, the vanquished Coleman noted, "The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results. Sure I wanted to win. I thought we had a better case. But the court has spoken." Franken, who first gained notoriety on the late night sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live," entered politics several years ago with a series of books that poked fun at conservative talk show host and personality Rush Limbaugh. Now that he’s a U.S. senator, it would appear his career as a politician has definitely been ratcheted up a notch.