McConnell Urges Patience’ in Minnesota Race
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signaled Wednesday that his Conference remains committed to filibustering any attempt to seat Democrat Al Franken, who maintains a 225-vote lead over Republican Norm Coleman in the as-yet-undecided Minnesota Senate race.In a prepared statement, McConnell called for “patience over partisanship— in handling the matter. A three-judge state panel on Tuesday delivered a ruling in Coleman’s challenge to the November results that bolsters Franken’s case, although that decision is far from the last word.“The court’s decision in Minnesota leaves no other choice but to continue the process to ensure that every legal vote is counted,— McConnell said. “Minnesotans deserve a final ruling that applies consistent ballot standards and addresses serious unresolved questions in order to have any confidence in the accuracy of the result. Although we all want finality to this historically close election, patience must outweigh partisanship as Minnesotans continue the process to attain the accurate results from Election Day.—Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has suggested he would sit tight until Franken is certified as the winner and will not try to install him in the interim. Reid has previously said that Franken would be in place as Minnesota’s newest Senator by April, which now appears unlikely.