The next Minnesota Senator: TBD
By RYAN SWANSON
DCN Correspondent
The Minnesota U.S. Senate race was close from the beginning, but some might not have foreseen that the race would still be undecided after Election Day.
The results of the election project that Republican Norm Coleman holds a very narrow lead over the Democratic candidate Al Franken. The separation between the two is a margin of approximately 700 votes.
According to Assistant Professor of Political Science Garrick Percival, an automatic recount was triggered because the Minnesota Senate results are so close.
“The favor is still with Coleman,� said Percival. He said that the chances of the election results being overturned are very small because the state of Minnesota uses optical scan machines, which tend to be fairly accurate.
Before the election there was talk that the Independent candidate, Dean Barkley, could possibly be a spoiler in the election.
Percival said that he would not call Barkley a spoiler because he drew votes away from both candidates.
A major concern with Coleman before the election was his ability to cross partisan lines. Percival said that there is an incentive for Coleman to cross the party lines. This is because the distribution of voters who align with either party is fairly balanced.
“Minnesota is a competitive state,� said Percival. “Coleman has to have sense to work across lines.�
Another concern that surrounds the candidates is how well they will work with the new President-Elect, Barack Obama. Percival said we [voters] decide who becomes president, yet it depends on how Obama decides to run the government. If Obama runs a centrist government, Coleman will be given the opportunity to work well with Obama.