recount

It has not been a good week for more than one prominent Midwestern politician.
In addition to the early birthday present the FBI gave to Illinois’ Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that federal investigators “are looking into allegations that a longtime friend and benefactor tried to steer money to U.S. Sen. [...]

The Minnesota Independent reports that the Al Franken campaign has just claimed its first lead of the Minnesota Senate recount, by a margin of 22 votes.
The official count, as reported by the Star Tribune, still has Franken’s opponent, incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman, up by 295 votes. But this official tally excludes the 6,000-plus challenged ballots [...]

Following up on Chris Steller’s elucidation of the Senate recount in Minnesota that’s left most pundits scratching their heads, several new reports show Al Franken might be the slight favorite to take the seat.
Yesterday, Talking Points Memo reported that the Franken campaign’s numbers show the Democratic candidate trailing by just 50 votes, a significantly lower [...]

Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie announced yesterday that he and four state judges will oversee the recount of votes in the U.S. Senate contest.
Incumbent Republican Norm Coleman holds a 206-vote lead over Democratic challenger Al Franken.
As Coleman’s margin has dropped by about 500 votes since Election Day, Republicans are stepping up their criticism [...]

Our friends at MnIndy have the story of one key Senate race that is not over.
The most expensive Senate race in Minnesota history looks like it may also end up its closest.
With all precincts reporting, and nearly 3 million ballots counted, Sen. Norm Coleman eked out a minuscule 727-vote victory over Al Franken, according to [...]