Coleman – Franken Race Goes to Recount with Less Than One Percent of Vote Separating the Candidates

Obama’s win in Minnesota helped pushed Al Franken close to victory on Tuesday, but perhaps not close enough. Coleman remains 2000 votes ahead and now both candidates must face a recount, which is automatic for any race with a margin of one percent or less in Minnesota.

The two candidates are not separated by only hundreds of votes and all ballots will now be counted by hand.

It is clear that the race would not have been close is the democratic candidate was not as controversial as Franken who was attacked for past statements and even pornographic writings. That is not exactly the stuff that appeals to Norwegian farmers. Franken proved a much better candidate toward the end of the campaign when he seemed to hit his stride. He started to close the gap with Coleman and then Obama’s win pushed him even closer.

The impressive performance of Independent candidate Barkley surprised both campaigns. He took 15 percent and appears to have hurt both candidates. His draw appears to confirm various pollsters that many citizens were “disgusted” by the two leading choices.

Democrats surprised by this close result in Minnesota should look closely at their archaic primary system and embrace a modern primary model. Peter Agre or other candidates would likely have performed much better against Coleman. Having said that, Franken is clearly very smart and showed some surprising skills as a candidate. However, he was heavily burdened by his past work.

For the current tally, click here.