Al Franken Losing Ground in Minnesota Senate Recount

Comedian turned liberal gadfly radio host turned Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken is locked in a tight recount battle with incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman. But as the recount is nearing its completion something is happening in Minnesota's biggest Democratic stronghold, Minneapolis, that the Franken campaign likely finds very unfunny. Franken is losing ground. With nearly half of Minneapolis' ballots counted, Coleman holds a slim 170 vote lead over Franken. That total includes more than 80 votes Franken has lost in Minneapolis, where he should have been gaining votes on his Republican opponent.

Election observers say that Franken will have a difficult time catching Coleman if the gains his campaign expected in Democratic areas of the state do not begin to materialize soon. "Things are clearly going in the wrong direction for Franken," said Larry Jacobs, Director of the University of Minnesota's Center for the Study of Politics and Governance. Jacobs said that any chance Franken may now have to win the recount could hinge on the fate of as yet uncounted absentee ballots. Another glimmer of hope for Franken lies in the 2,800 challenged ballots which will be examined by the state canvassing board. To overcome his roughly 200 vote disadvantage, however, Franken would have to win nearly 55% of the challenged ballots, in an election in which he only carried 42% of the vote on Election Day.

Should Franken lose in Minnesota, national Democrats' dream of gaining a filibuster-proof 60 seat majority in the U.S.Senate will be dashed. The Republican minority will be the only firewall against the enactment of a runaway liberal agenda by Congressional Democrats and the incoming Obama Administration. And Republicans are sure to use their limited power as a check against Democratic overreaching. In the Senate, the next two years could be as divisive, and unproductive, as the prior two, thanks in part to a little unfunny business in Minnesota.