Coleman urged to fight to Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, April 5 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., should take his election recount lawsuit all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Republican senators say.

Coleman, who came out 225 votes behind Democrat Al Franken in a recount of last November's Minnesota Senate election, has suffered recent setbacks as a state trial court adjudicates his legal challenges to the recount results.

That has prompted his former Republican Senate colleagues to urge him to appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court should he face an adverse verdict, the Washington publication The Hill reported Sunday.

"I'll back Norm as far as he believes he should go," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. "He's there on the ground, he's the one with the best information and he's a good and honorable man. It's very hotly contested, very close, and there's a lot of questions."

"This is about making sure every legal vote is counted, this isn't just about Norm Coleman," added Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. "This is about protecting the rights of voters."

Because there was a major third-party candidate, Dean Barkley, neither Franken nor Coleman came close to getting half of the votes cast. So no matter who ultimately is seated, he won't have been majority support among Minnesotans.