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SENATOR FRANKEN?
It's been looking, of late, like Al Franken may actually win this thing. And today his campaign sent out an e-mail all but declaring victory:
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your support and your patience during this long recount process.
Today I've got good news to report: it looks like we're on track to win. The state canvassing board has completed its job of reviewing all the ballots - and at the end of this important step in the process, we're ahead.[...]
We've got a lot of important work left to do together to get this country back on track - and with the recount process almost over, I want you to know that I'm ready to get to work on day one. For now, though, I'd like to thank you for all you've done, and to wish you and your family a Happy New Year. I think it's going to be a great one.
It's not over, of course, until the last absentee ballot is certified, but as Eric Kleefeld says, "Al Franken, who entered the recount down by 215 votes, is currently ahead by a margin of 0.00171% out of over 2.9 million votes." That seems like a whole lot of nothing, but given how few ballots are left, it's actually a relevant lead. Indeed, Franken is currently trading at 90 on Intrade. Coleman is down to 6.
COMMENTS (5)
Of course the Coleman team is vowing to fight the outcome by whatever trickery they can get their paws on. Coleman, as an incumbent, could not even get anything close to a clear victory, and for that reason alone he should sit down and STFU.
Franken has the potential to be a better than decent, long time Senator. Coleman is only likely to screw his life up further and lose another election due to his own corruption and ego.
Posted by: Hairy Reed | December 30, 2008 11:59 AM
It would be sweet indeed to have a professional comedian in a Senate heretofore dominated by clowns.
Posted by: Sam Thornton | December 30, 2008 12:41 PM
And Coleman knows that the moment he signs off on the concluding portion of the recount, he has lost.
Posted by: parsec | December 30, 2008 1:36 PM
Sam Thornton: Do you mind if I steal that one from you?
Posted by: arbitrista | December 30, 2008 2:29 PM
Nate Silver, you truly are a genius. We should all bow before you.
Posted by: dapajoe | December 30, 2008 5:15 PM