# Minnesota has a senator: Franken wins **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 30, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minnesota-has-a-senator-franken-wins/501513 "2009-06-30T20:45:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minnesota-has-a-senator-franken-wins/501513/21 "2009-07-01T19:08:10Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > If Minnesota Republicans spend the next 6 years chanting, “He’s NOT my Senator,” will Franken understand? Or will he growl that they should shut up and stop whining? Some Minnesota Republicans spent all the years Wellstone was in office saying that - and I’ve heard those words voiced about Klobachar - not sure why it would be any different with a down to the wire election. ETA: Minnesota Democrats have said the same thing about Republican senators. People are stupidly partisan. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minnesota-has-a-senator-franken-wins/501513/22 "2009-07-01T19:19:49Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > That’s not the impression I got from following the MN election saga. It seemed pretty transparent and reasonable to me, and there seems little doubt that Franken did get more votes. Actually, there were some serious allegations of vote fraud in some Franken-favoring districts, but there really was no way to prove it. Of course, it’s a rare election without allegations of vote fraud _somewhere_. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minnesota-has-a-senator-franken-wins/501513/23 "2009-07-01T19:23:44Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Both times, we had extremely tight races that came down to multiple recounts, at the end of which there was STILL no way to be 100% sure who won. > > Both times, the authorities involved did the best they could, and came up with a result tha twas BOUND to tick off half the electorate. Both were very close elections, but the disputed results were handled in very different ways, which makes all the difference. Florida was a clusterfuck, with different standards being followed in different counties, and nobody really sure what to do. In Minnesota, since they had Florida’s example to build on, there were procedures in place ahead of time and ways to handle disputes. There’s no perfect answer, but that’s how it ought to work. > [@](#): > > Both Al Gore and Norm Coleman eventually conceded defeat, even though both probably feel confident that they won. I don’t think Coleman believes he won. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minnesota-has-a-senator-franken-wins/501513/24 "2009-07-01T19:38:29Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Actually, there were some serious allegations of vote fraud in some Franken-favoring districts, but there really was no way to prove it. Of course, it’s a rare election without allegations of vote fraud _somewhere_. Bull! Can you (or anybody) name one specific one? That claim was pretty clearly rejected by the Election Court, and now also by the Supreme Court. Every ballot in Minnesota is a written paper ballot, so how is there “no way to prove it”? ---
**Author:** ![merryjman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@merryjman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merryjman)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minnesota-has-a-senator-franken-wins/501513/25 "2009-07-01T21:10:08Z")
now he finally gets to be one of the lying liars who tells lies ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minnesota-has-a-senator-franken-wins/501513/26 "2009-07-01T22:36:05Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > If he is going to represent Minnesota in an embarrassing way, it will be a challenge - he’d have to out batshit Batshit Bachmann. Yeah, well, there is that. OK, I’m apologizing for her, too. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minnesota-has-a-senator-franken-wins/501513/27 "2009-07-02T02:16:20Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t think Coleman believes he won. I’ve talked to several people who have spoken to Coleman since November - some Republicans, some Democrats. None of them have come away saying Coleman seemed confident he won, or seemed to have any hope of winning after the initial recount. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minnesota-has-a-senator-franken-wins/501513/28 "2009-07-02T06:31:23Z")
Why would Coleman believe he won? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minnesota-has-a-senator-franken-wins/501513/29 "2009-07-07T03:57:55Z")
[CNN.com](http://CNN.com)’s Franken-election wrapup: [Al Franken: From satirist to senator - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/06/franken.bio/index.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minnesota-has-a-senator-franken-wins/501513.md?page=1)