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Republican Norm Coleman this afternoon conceded the U.S. Senate race to Democrat Al Franken. There had been much speculation that he would appeal the state's Supreme Court decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. But Coleman has decided not to appeal the ruling.
At a press conference outside his St. Paul home, Coleman said, "The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results."
The Minnesota Supreme Court this afternoon released a unanimous ruling in favor of Democrat Al Franken. The court determined that Franken should be certified the winner of the Senate race. What remains to be seen is whether Republican Norm Coleman will appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Local Democrats welcomed the court's decisions.
"The people of Minnesota spoke last November and finally seven months later they are being heard. It is time for Sen. Franken to do the work that the people of Minnesota elected him to do," said Olmsted County DFL Chair Lynn Wilson.
Meanwhile, Republicans voiced disappointment at the court's decision. Linda Kopecky, co-chair of the Republican Party of Olmsted County said the court failed to address voting inconsistencies brought to light during the election. She said she believes Coleman should appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"I think he should because of the fundamental principles that were neglected — the fairness, the honesty, the deception that is out there that happened in this election. For all those reasons, I believe that this was an unfair election," Kopecky said.
Here is a link to the court's ruling.
DFL lawmakers are expected to be asking some tough questions of Minnesota Management and Budget Office Commissioner Tom Hanson at a legislative hearing this morning.
The Legislative Advisory Commission is expected to convene at 10 a.m. at the state Capitol to discuss Gov. Tim Pawlenty's $2.7 billion in proposed cuts to balance the state budget using his executive authority of unallotment. To watch the hearing live, go to The Uptake.
Pawlenty recently tweaked his unallotment plan, limiting cuts for chemical dependence programs and increasing the level of cuts to mental health grants and community block grants. But overall the plan is pretty much the same. It involves cuts to health and human services, local government aid and higher education.
Don't be surprised if you see former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman or former Gov. Al Quie in downtown Rochester today. They are expected to be among the Republicans gathering to honor former Rochester Sen. Nancy Brataas at a fundraising event.
Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem of Rochester helped organize the $100-a-plate event that will benefit the Senate Victory Fund. Money raised for the fund is used to support Republican candidates running for the state Legislature.
Also expected to turn out is former Senate Majority Leader Duane Benson and former Supreme Court Justice A.M. "Sandy" Keith. Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce President John Wade will serve as emcee.
The League of Minnesota Cities announced today that Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede was elected to serve as president of the organization from 2009 to 2010.
Brede was elected at the league's annual conference in St. Paul. Brede has served as first vice president of the league and chaired the organization's environment committee. He has also served on the energy and environment committees for the National League of Cities and on various issue committees for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Brede, a former Mayo Clinic employee, has been Rochester's mayor since 2003.
The Taxpayers League of Minnesota has released its annual legislative scorecard. The scores are based on whether or not lawmakers voted for legislation deemed by the organization to be unfriendly to the taxpayer. In many cases, that involves whether or not a lawmaker supported bills with tax increases.
Looks like the Rochester area will not have two minority leaders in the Legislature after all.
Hayfield Rep. Randy Demmer was battling it out Tuesday night to be elected minority leader by his fellow House GOP members. But he got beaten out by Rep. Kurt Zellers of Maple Grove. Zellers is serving his fourth term in the House. He takes over for outgoing Minority Leader Marty Seifert of Marshall who stepped down to focus on running for governor in 2010.
Hayfield Rep. Randy Demmer is still in the running for the top spot for the House GOP.
The 47 members of the minority caucus will gather tonight at 6:30 p.m. to pick a new minority leader to replace Rep. Marty Seifert, of Marshall. Seifert announced earlier this month he was stepping down to run for governor in 2010.
Rep. Tom Emmer of Delano narrowly lost the minority leader post to Seifert. But Emmer said he has decided not to run for the leadership post, instead considering a run for governor. Several other House Republicans are eyeing a bid for the governor's mansion.
Rep. Kurt Zellers, of Maple Grove, is said to be competing for the leadership post. The St. Cloud Times reports that Sauk Rapids Rep. Dan Severson is also considering a run for minority leader.
If Demmer is elected, it would mean both legislative minority leaders represent a portion of Rochester. Rochester Sen. Dave Senjem currently serves as Senate minority leader.
I'll update this blog when I find out who the winner is.
This is an update to my previous post this morning about the District 31B House race. Just got a call back from former DFL Rep. Ken Tschumper who said he is considering another run the seat after losing last year to Republican Rep. Greg Davids. The La Crescent farmer said he plans to announce his intentions in August, so stay tuned.
Houston County DFL Chair Steve Kemp announced this past weekend he was stepping down from his leadership post to run for the District 31B House seat that includes Houston and Fillmore counties.
That could make things a little awkward for Democrats in the district. It is still unclear whether former DFL Rep. Ken Tschumper will run again for the seat he lost last year to Republican Rep. Greg Davids. But rumblings are that the La Crescent farmer is considering another bid, even as the former party head is making a run for it.
"There is a bit of tension within the party," said Kemp, of Spring Grove.
Kemp said he wanted to run because he is concerned about the impact of steep state spending cuts to health care and what that will mean for residents' well being. He added that he sees the district as being middle of the road and that "I think I best represent the middle of the road."
Asked whether he views Tschumper as being more to the left of him, Kemp said yes. But he said he is not going to criticize Tschumper because his focus is running against Davids.
Tschumper defeated Davids, a longtime incumbent, by a mere 52 votes in 2006. But Davids regained the seat he had held for 16 years last year winning by 405 votes.
Kemp, 54, currently serves on the Spring Grove City Council and works at Northern Engraving as a safety manager.
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