Coleman concedes Senate race to Franken

The long-running political saga known as the Minnesota US Senate election is finally over.

After the state's Supreme Court today ended the recount and affirmed Democratic challenger Al Franken as the winner, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman conceded. That cleared the way for Franken to be seated, giving Democrats a potentially filibuster-proof 60-vote majority in the Senate -- and giving a boost to President Obama's agenda.

"It's over," Coleman said, congratulating Franken.

"Sure I wanted to win, not just for myself but for my supporters," Coleman told reporters.

But he said that further litigation would damage the state. "We have to focus on the future, and the future is that we have a new US senator," he said.

In his own news conference about an hour after Coleman's, Franken said he was "so thrilled" that he could finally celebrate his victory and excited to start work for Minnesotans.

"We have a lot of work to do in Washington, but that's why I signed up for this job in the first place," said the new senator-elect.

He said he would work on healthcare, education, renewable energy, and the economy.Franken said Coleman called and was gracious in defeat.

Franken said he expects to be seated next week, when Congress returns from its July Fourth recess.

But he cautioned that he wouldn't always toe the party line.

"I know there's been a lot of talk about the fact that when I'm sworn in I'll be the 60th member of the Democratic caucus, but that's not how I see it," Franken told reporters outside his downtown Minneapolis town house. "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 the state of Minnesota, and that's how I'm going to do this job."

"I promise to do my best, to work hard, to stand on principle when I believe I must, and, yes, to compromise when I believe that that is in the best interests of the people of Minnesota," he added.

Minutes after Coleman's concession, the White House issued a statement from Obama: "I look forward to working with Senator-Elect Franken to build a new foundation for growth and prosperity by lowering health care costs and investing in the kind of clean energy jobs and industries that will help America lead in the 21st century.”

The unanimous ruling (read it here) affirmed a trial court's decision that after the recount, Franken received 312 more votes than Coleman out of more than 2.4 million cast last November.

While the result has been tied up in the courts, Minnesota has been without its second US senator as Congress has tackled major legislation on the economy and other issues.

Before Coleman's concession, allies of Obama and Democrats quickly called on Coleman to concede and allow Franken, a former "Saturday Night Live" comedian, to be seated.

“On behalf of the Democratic National Committee, I congratulate Al Franken on his election to the United States Senate. Senator-Elect Franken must be seated as soon as possible. The people of Minnesota rightfully elected Al Franken to serve in the Senate and there is far too much work to be done for the state and the nation to drag this process on any longer,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine said in a statement.

“Today’s ruling from the Minnesota Supreme Court marks the end of the line for Norm Coleman's legal battle. For too long, Minnesotans have been denied their proper representation in Congress while Norm Coleman pursued his political ambitions. In light of today's decision, Norm Coleman should concede and Governor Pawlenty should sign the election certificate which Al Franken is entitled to, and which he pledged to do upon guidance from the court. Doing so will finally put this saga to an end and give Minnesotans their full voice in the U.S. Senate."

“Now that the Minnesota Supreme Court has made its final ruling, it is time to recognize Al Franken as the duly elected Senator from Minnesota. As is appropriate after any extremely close election, Minnesotans took the time to conduct an extensive and thorough recount process, but now that all reasonable legal options have been exhausted, Minnesota deserves its full representation in Congress. We call on Governor Pawlenty to pursue the state’s best interests and end this contest instead of favoring those who would allow the recount to continue for purely partisan reasons," Anna Burger, chairwoman of the Change to Win labor coalition, said in a statement.

"America’s workers congratulate Al Franken – and the people of Minnesota who have gone 226 days without a second Senator – for their unanimous victory today in the Minnesota Supreme Court," added AFL-CIO president John Sweeney.

"Working families are facing many challenges including a tough economy, lack of health care coverage and an out of balance economic system where workers do not have a voice at their job. With these colossal issues at stake it is essential that Minnesotans have both their senators to represent them and we urge Governor Pawlenty to immediately sign the election certificate so Franken can get to work.