Reid Pressures Coleman to Concede

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Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 11:58 pm

During his statement to the new Congress, Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) waded into the disputed Minnesota Senate race by referring to Republican Norm Coleman as a former senator, and he called on him to concede, but Coleman said he will be filing suit to contest the certification of Al Franken as the winner.

Reid said, “The Senate race in Minnesota was exceptionally close – one of the closest in history. The bipartisan state canvassing board and Minnesota’s elections officials have done an exemplary job handling the recount. There have been no allegations of partisanship or unfairness from either side. Even close elections have winners. After all votes have been fairly counted, Al Franken is the certified winner by the State Canvassing Board and he is the Senator-elect from Minnesota.”

He said that Democrats won’t seek to seat Franken, and called on Coleman to concede, “Democrats will not seek to seat Senator-elect Franken today. We understand the sensitivity on both sides to an election this close. This is a difficult time for former Senator Coleman and his family, and he is entitled to the opportunity to concede this election graciously. But we cannot let this drag on forever. I hope that former Senator Coleman and all of our Republican colleagues will choose to respect the will of the people of Minnesota. They have chosen a new Senator, Al Franken, and his term must and will begin soon.”

Notice how Reid is trying to spin this as the Democrats have chosen not to seat Franken. The truth is that Senate Republicans have already promised to block any attempt to seat Franken until the process is complete. It is extremely unlikely that Coleman will win his lawsuit, so it is only a matter of time before Al Franken is seated.

Full Text of Reid Statement

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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