ST. PAUL, Minn. — Republican Norm Coleman said Tuesday that he is suing to challenge Democrat Al Franken’s apparent recount victory in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race, delaying a resolution of the contest for weeks or months.
At a Capitol news conference, Coleman said he won’t accept a board’s determination a day earlier that Franken won 225 more votes in the November election. He had a seven- day window to file the lawsuit.
“We are filing this contest to make absolutely sure every valid vote was counted and no one’s was counted more than anyone else’s,” Coleman said.
Coleman shrugged off the idea that he might concede the election to avoid a protracted fight that could leave Minnesota with only a single senator in Washington for months.
“Something greater than expediency is at stake here,” Coleman said. He added: “Democracy is not a machine. Sometimes it’s messy and inconvenient, and reaching the best conclusion is never quick, because speed is not the first objective, fairness is.”
Coleman, whose term expired Saturday, led Franken by 215 votes in the Nov. 4 count, but that advantage flipped during a prolonged recount.
