Franken team expects a win of 35-50 votes
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/12/20/art.ballot1.gi.jpg caption="The Franken team said they expect him to come out on top when the Senate race recount ends."] MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) - Democrat Al Franken's team said Saturday that after all challenged ballots have finally been sorted, they expect to come out on top with a 35 to 50 vote lead.
Franken currently holds a slim lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman in the continuing Minnesota recount - the sole U.S. Senate contest still unresolved.
Marc Elias, the Franken team's lead recount attorney, said in a press conference that the approximately 4,000 withdrawn challenges from both campaigns yet to be added to the current numbers by the state canvassing board have already been included in the campaign's internal count.
"Al Franken will have a lead of between 35 and 50 votes. And, at some point not too long after that, Al Franken will stand before you as the Senator-elect from Minnesota," Elias said.
(Update after the jump: The Coleman camp fires back)
Representatives with Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's office have said they are sorting out those withdrawn ballots this weekend and will likely have those results on Monday or Tuesday.
But the recount doesn't end there. Still to be dealt with are a thousand or more improperly rejected absentee ballots, which the Minnesota Supreme Court said this week could not be counted unless all parties involved agreed the ballot was rejected in error.
Update: The Coleman team dismissed the Franken camp's prediction. "This is just more bluster and hot air from a campaign that has been trailing for two years," said Coleman spokesman Mark Drake. "While we can understand their need to latch onto their temporary lead, the reality is there's a long way to go in this process.
"We have no doubt that once this recount is fully completed, Senator Coleman will be in the lead and will be reelected to the Senate."
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Go Al go...Yeah...
Jeez, crazy stuff.
Democracy at work, like in Florida in 2000?
Time to play "Send in the Attorneys" to the tune of "Send in the Clowns"
Enough already! This is worse than the Florida recount of 2000. For God's sake, declare a winner aready!
Well I guess Al Franken will push till he wins. All I can say is that if Norm Coleman gives up I'll be disappointed. The whole election thing is so screwed up that It really comes down to whoever has the most money to fight the results in court. There should be no 're-counts' allowed. When it's done... it's done. end of story.
If I lived there and had voted for Norm Coleman and Franken ends up in office I'd be planning a major protest.
Go, Al! Go!!!!
when will tis ever end?
when will this ever end?
I guess they get weekends off.
1st time he's been ahead in over 6 weeks. The media is blaring the headlines. Where was the msm while Coleman was up?
Sitting and waiting for this moment. Pravda is looking more balanced in coverage. Disgusting.