Franken has slight lead over Coleman

ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Democrat Al Franken held a slight lead Tuesday over incumbent Republican Norm Coleman in the race to grab Minnesota's Senate seat in Washington.

Coleman, took on two opponents -- Franken and the Independence Party's Dean Barkley -- in his re-election bid Tuesday.

With about 500,000 votes counted, Franken, a former writer and performer on "Saturday Night Live," held a 42 percent to 41 percent edge over Coleman. Barkley had about 15 percent of the vote

In what has been a bitter, sometimes nasty, campaign, Coleman found himself in a battle to keep his seat in a year of U.S. voter backlash against incumbents.

Poll leads changed several times between Franken and Coleman, who was elected St. Paul mayor as a Democrat. Tracking at about 18 percent was Barkley, who was appointed to complete the unexpired term of Sen. Paul Wellstone after he died just weeks before his re-election bid against Coleman in 2002.

Campaign spending was high as Franken and Coleman spent about $30 million total in advertising. Millions of dollars were poured into the race from the national parties and third-party groups.