Coleman Recount Backfires

At the start of the day, Minnesota Democrat Al Franken was leading former GOP Sen. Norm Coleman by 225 votes in their epic contest for the U.S. Senate. Now, thanks to a recount of nearly 400 ballots contested by Coleman, Franken is up by 312.

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

The result makes it even more likely that, barring an unforeseen circumstance, Franken will prevail in the election lawsuit that Coleman filed in January to contest the Democrat’s 225-vote recount lead. The court has not said when it will issue a final decision in the case.

Coleman will appeal the case to the Minnesota Supreme Court, his  lawyer Ben Ginsberg said after court adjourned today. One of the grounds for the appeal will be unequal treatment of the ballots, he said.

And that might not be all. Yesterday, Minnesota GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty suggested that the loser of the state Supreme Court case will likely appeal to the high court in Washington — a process Pawlenty said he supports.

Don’t hold your breath — this one’s not going away for awhile.