Senate Dems May Attempt to Seat Franken Tomorrow

At 3:30 ET today, the Minnesota State Canvassing Board is expected to declare Al Franken the winner of his U.S. Senate race against incumbent GOP Sen. Norm Coleman, and Senate Democrats may try to seat him tomorrow when the new Congress is sworn in, according to Congressional Quarterly.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told CQ that there “

Yet when I talked to Franken spokesman Andy Barr on the phone earlier this afternoon, he wouldn’t say whether Franken had plans to fly to Washington.

“We’re not looking anywhere beyond the [canvassing board] meeting this afternoon,” Barr told me. When I asked if this meant that Franken had no imminent plans to head to the capital, he responded, “I’m not saying that,” adding, “He’s in Minneapolis and we’re looking forward to the canvassing board meeting.”

It’s entirely possible that the Democratic leaders in the Senate still haven’t worked out a game plan for Franken, especially since seating him could be difficult if they try to prevent Roland Burris from being seated. We should have a clearer picture by the end of the day.