The 2008 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 4, 2008. After a legal battle lasting over eight months, the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) candidate, Al Franken, defeated Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in one of the closest elections in the history of the Senate, with Coleman's Senate predecessor Dean Barkley taking third place. Franken took his oath of office on July 7, 2009, more than half a year after the end of Coleman's term on January 3, 2009.
When the initial count was completed on November 18, Franken was trailing Coleman by 215 votes. The close margin triggered a mandatory recount.Senate race 100% counted: Coleman up; recount coming , Star Tribune, November 5, 2008.Patricia Lopez and Bob von Sternberg. Day 4: Ballot-counters press on, find glitches . Star Tribune. November 23, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2008. After reviewing ballots that had been challenged during the recount and counting 953 wrongly rejected absentee ballots, the State Canvassing Board officially certified the recount results with Franken holding a 225-vote lead.
On January 6, 2009, Coleman's campaign filed an election contest and on April 13, a three-judge panel dismissed Coleman's Notice of Contest and ruled that Franken had won the election by 312 votes. Coleman's appeal of the panel's decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court was unanimously rejected on June 30, and he subsequently conceded the election. Franken was sworn in as the junior senator from Minnesota on July 7. With a margin of just 0.01%, this election was the closest race of the 2008 Senate election cycle.
Primaries In Minnesota, candidates are generally endorsed by their political parties before the party primaries. The Republican Party endorsed Norm Coleman, and the DFL Party Al Franken. In total 18 candidates had filed to run in the statewide primaries, including seven for the DFL Party, two for the Republican Party, seven for the Independence Party, one for the Libertarian Party, and one for the Constitution Party. TwinCities.com
Notable challengers included former Ventura administration official Jack Uldrich and former Senator Dean Barkley for the IP nomination; lawyer and vocal Franken critic Priscilla Lord Faris for the DFL nomination; and dentist and fugitive Jack Shepard for the Republican nomination. Minneapolis attorney Mike Ciresi also campaigned for the DFL endorsement, but dropped out on March 10. Each party's respective primary was held on September 9, resulting in Barkley, Franken and Coleman on the general election ballot.
DFL
The following candidates sought an endorsement at the party's convention, but dropped out after Franken was endorsed: Mike Ciresi, Jim Cohen and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer.
Independence
Though Stephen Williams was endorsed by the Independence Party, he lost to former Senator Dean Barkley by over 51 points and was third place in the primary behind Jack Uldrich.
Republican
General election Candidates The general election was among candidates nominated by three major parties, the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), the Republican Party of Minnesota (R), and the Independence Party of Minnesota, as well as two other parties, the Libertarian Party (L) and the Constitution Party (C). The Green Party failed to nominate a candidate. Charles Aldrich (L) Dean Barkley (IP), former U.S. senator and co-founder of the Minnesota Independence PartyJesse the Diva gives way to bravado-lite Barkley. Minnesota Post, July 15, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2008. Norm Coleman (R), incumbent U.S. Senator and former mayor of St. Paul Al Franken (DFL), former Air America radio talk-show host, writer, comedian, and political commentator James Niemackl (C)
Fundraising 2007 year-end reports filed with the Federal Election Commission showed that Franken had raised $7.04 million through December 31, 2007, while Coleman had raised $6.24 million. Year-end cash on hand was $6.04 million for Coleman and $3.10 million for Franken.Candidate Filings, Federal Election Commission, year-end 2007
Pre-primary reports filed with the FEC on August 20 showed Coleman as having raised $16.76 million (with $5.61 million on hand), Franken $13.09 million (with $2.37 million on hand), and Barkley $14,374 (with $5,071 on hand).
A late October Star Tribune report showed Barkley as having raised $56,763.
Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report October 23, 2008 CQ PoliticsRace Ratings Chart: Senate CQ Politics October 31, 2008 Rothenberg Political Report November 2, 2008 Real Clear Politics November 1, 2008
Polling
Early polling showed Coleman with a large lead over his prospective Democratic opponents. But the race narrowed considerably, becoming one of the most hotly contested elections in the nation in 2008. A January 29, 2008 poll from Minnesota Public Radio showed the first lead for Franken.See Minnesota United States Senate election, 2008#Polling Barkley consistently polled in the 15–20% range and was unable to break past 20%.
Poll source Date(s)administered NormColeman (R) AlFranken (DFL) DeanBarkley (IP)Survey USASurvey USA November 1, 2008 44% 39% 16%Star TribuneStar Tribune October 29–31, 2008 38% 42% 15%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports October 28, 2008 43% 39% 14%Rasmussen Reports October 22, 2008 37% 41% 17%University of Wisconsin–MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison October 19–22, 2008 34% 40% 15%St. Cloud State UniversitySt. Cloud State University October 14–22, 2008 36% 27% 16%Minneapolis Star TribuneMinneapolis Star Tribune October 21, 2008 36% 39% 18%Survey USASurvey USA October 8–18, 2008 41% 39% 18%Quinnipiac UniversityQuinnipiac University October 8–12, 2008 36% 38% 18%Rasmussen Reports October 7, 2008 37% 43% 17%Minneapolis Star TribuneMinneapolis Star Tribune September 30 – October 2, 2008 34% 43% 18%SurveyUSASurveyUSA September 30 – October 1, 2008 43% 33% 19%QuinnipiacQuinnipiac September 14–21, 2008 49% 42%Rasmussen Reports September 18, 2008 48% 47% 3%Minneapolis Star-TribuneMinneapolis Star-Tribune September 10–12, 2008 41% 37% 13%Survey USASurvey USA September 12, 2008 41% 40% 14%Survey USASurvey USA August 18, 2008 46% 39%Minnesota Public RadioMinnesota Public Radio August 17, 2008 40% 41%Rasmussen Reports August 13, 2008 49% 46%QuinnipiacQuinnipiac July 24, 2008 53% 38%Rasmussen Reports July 22, 2008 46% 49%Rasmussen Reports July 10, 2008 42% 44%KSTPKSTP **In the June 13, 2008 poll with Barkley included, you have to watch the video till 2:03. They release the poll results there. June 13, 2008 48% 37% 8%Rasmussen Reports June 9, 2008 48% 45%QuinnipiacQuinnipiac June 26, 2008 51% 41%Survey USASurvey USA June 10–12, 2008 52% 40%Rasmussen Reports June 11, 2008 48% 45%Rasmussen Reports May 22, 2008 47% 45%Minneapolis Star-TribuneMinneapolis Star-Tribune May 12–15, 2008 51% 44%Survey USASurvey USA April 30 – May 1, 2008 52% 42%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports April 22, 2008 50% 43%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports March 19, 2008 48% 46%Survey USASurvey USA March 12, 2008 51% 41%McLaughlin & AssociatesMcLaughlin & Associates March 6–9, 2008 46% 40%Minnesota Public Radio/Humphrey InstituteMinnesota Public Radio/Humphrey Institute January 20–27, 2008 40% 43%Minnesota Public Radio/Mason DixonMinnesota Public Radio/Mason Dixon May 7–9, 2007 54% 32%
Results After all the votes were tallied, Coleman led Franken by 215 votes—well under the 0.5% margin that triggers a mandatory recount according to state law.
Early on November 5, news organizations including the Associated Press, Minnesota Public Radio, and Fox NewsColeman Appears Victor as Minnesota Goes to Recount Senate Race. Fox News, November 5, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2008. called the election for Coleman. NPR and the AP uncalled the race mere hours later.AP uncalls race due to slim margin, Minnesota Public Radio, November 5, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008. Coleman declared himself the victor, and suggested that Franken waive his right to a recount. Franken was unwilling to do so.Recount: The Coleman-Franken brawl drags on. Star Tribune, November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2008.
Since the unofficial results were first posted on the Minnesota Secretary of State's website, Coleman's lead had narrowed from 726 votes on November 5 to the official pre-recount tally of 215 votes on November 18. Secretary of State Mark Ritchie called these changes "well within the normal range in the days immediately following an election, when county officials double check and verify election night tabulations reported to the secretary of state's office", while Coleman's campaign decried the "improbable shifts that are overwhelmingly accruing to the benefit of Al Franken." An independent analysis of statewide elections over the previous 10 years showed that the average change in vote totals as reported on election night compared to the certified result was 1,500 votes. The results were certified by each county's canvassing board and then on November 18, 2008, by the Minnesota State Canvassing Board.
Note: The ±% column reflects the change in total number of votes won by each party from the previous election. Additionally, votes cast for Paul Wellstone in the 2002 election are not factored into the DFL's total from that year.
Recount
In accordance with state law, the Minnesota State Canvassing Board ordered a hand recount. Representatives of Coleman and Franken observed the sorting and recounting of the ballots at 120 locations across the state on November 19, and largely finished on December 5. The votes were counted locally, but ballots that were challenged by either campaign were sent to the state capital for consideration by the State Canvassing Board. The board was a five-person panel consisting of Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson, Justice G. Barry Anderson, Ramsey County District Court Chief Judge Kathleen Gearin, and Assistant Chief Judge Edward Cleary; they made determinations of voter intent for ballots where either of the campaign's representatives disagreed with the election officials at the county sites. Of the five Canvassing Board members, Ritchie was an elected DFLer, the two justices were appointed by a Republican governor, one judge was appointed by an Independence Party governor, and one was elected in a nonpartisan election.
Of Minnesota's 4,130 precincts, one had to delay reporting its totals because election officials deduced that 133 ballots, all in a single envelope, had gone missing during the recount process. After days of searching,Ballot hunt ends, next stage begins St. Paul Pioneer Press. the State Canvassing Board decided to use that precinct's election day totals, which included the missing 133 votes. The 133 missing ballots contributed a net 46 votes for Franken.
By the end of the recount, each candidate had gained votes. In total, Coleman had challenged 3,377 ballots and Franken had challenged 3,278. These ballots were set aside until the State Canvassing Board could meet on December 16 to decide the fate of challenged ballots. But Ritchie's office insisted that each campaign voluntarily withdraw some of its challenges, due to the strain a large pile of ballot challenges would place on the State Canvassing Board. On December 3, Franken's campaign withdrew 633 of its challenges and said that it would withdraw more at a later date. The next day, Coleman's campaign responded by withdrawing 650 challenges. By the time all the ballots that Franken's campaign challenged were examined, only 420 challenges were left that had not been withdrawn,Ballot hunt ends, next stage begins St. Paul Pioneer Press while Coleman's campaign had roughly 1,000. The Secretary of State's website had noted that none of the withdrawn ballot challenges were reflected in the running tally of the recount.