In a late update (4:28PM, December 18), TPM Election Central reports, “Franken The Likely Winner As Minnesota Recount Heads To Finish Line.”
If you are like me, your head is spinning from all the changes, reversals, close calls, twists and turns, updates, breaking news, etc., on this never-ending race.
So let me just quote TPM’s headline news and their concluding “So What’s Next?”, and let you read all the excellent in-between background, summary and new developments in TPM’s article itself:
Late Update: Norm Coleman’s apparent lead has been cut to a mere five votes at the close of business today, according to the running vote count from the Star Tribune, down from a 358-vote lead last night. Al Franken seems poised to take the lead tomorrow as the state canvassing board sorts through the remaining hundreds of ballot challenges from the Coleman campaign, which have been mostly frivolous attempts to throw out Franken votes.
Don’t look now, but it looks like Al Franken may win the Minnesota Senate race.
And here is their “What’s Next?”:
So What’s Next?
The canvassing board has said they hope to certify the election and declare a winner by tomorrow. It doesn’t seem likely that they can pull it off, but it just might happen. No matter when they certify it — and no matter who they certify it for — the state fully expects the other candidate to file a legal challenge of some kind. And those challenges could potentially go all the way to the final authority on the legitimacy of Senate elections: The U.S. Senate itself.But as of right now, it looks like Franken will win. It just might take awhile.
As I said, about three years…no, three weeks ago, stay tuned!
