Minnesota Senate race inches toward resolution

By Michael Conlon

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota that could give President Barack Obama's Democrats the margin to pass legislation without Republican interference remains unfilled six months after the votes were cast.

Democrats, for now, show no indication they will try to force the issue in Washington by attempting to seat Al Franken, the comic turned politician who has been declared the winner by 312 votes over incumbent Republican Norm Coleman.

Instead the contest will be allowed to play out in Minnesota where a final resolution at the state level may come in about six or seven weeks. Coleman has asked the state's supreme court to reconsider the ruling from a special judicial panel that declared Franken the winner.

What happens after Minnesota's high court rules sometime in June is less clear. The loser could appeal to federal courts but the state's Republican governor, Tim Pawlenty, would be under pressure to certify a winner as required by state law.

"We are taking this one step at a time and are confident that the Minnesota Supreme Court will rule in our favor," Coleman spokesman Tom Erickson said.

Jess McIntosh, spokeswoman for Franken, said: "We're confident that the Minnesota Supreme Court will uphold what the State Canvassing Board and the Election Contest Panel have already confirmed -- that Al Franken won more votes in last November's election."

Senator Arlen Specter's defection to the Democrats last month put Democrats only one seat shy of the 60 votes needed to pass their legislative agenda in the 100-seat Senate without Republican roadblocks, although senators often vote across party lines. Democrats already hold comfortable control over the U.S. House of Representatives.

Senate rules say the election winner needs to be certified by the state, although the U.S. Constitution does not require this step. Forcing the issue by seating Franken before the story has played out in Minnesota, however, would be seen as a power grab that could damage him, said David Schultz, a professor at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.