Coleman concedes race to Franken

ST. PAUL, Miss., June 30 (UPI) -- Minnesota's U.S. Sen.-elect Al Franken said Tuesday he was excited to finally go to Washington representing Minnesotans as the state's junior senator.

He also said he was humbled by "the enormity of responsibility that comes with this office. We have a lot of work to do."

The Minnesota Supreme Court earlier ruled Franken won the greatest number of votes in November's U.S. Senate race with Republican Norm Coleman.

In his concession, Coleman said, "I respect its decision and I will abide by its results. It's time for Minnesotans to come together under the leaders it has chosen and move forward."

The court's one-page opinion said Coleman didn't prove that a lower court committed enough errors to rehear the case.

"(Coleman) did not prove that either the trial court or local election officials violated the constitutional guarantee of equal protection" in accepting or rejecting absentee ballots, the court opinion said. "The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it excluded additional evidence."

Coleman had asked the state high court to order thousands of rejected absentee ballots be counted in his bid to reclaim his Senate seat, hoping their inclusion would help him overcome Franken's 312-vote lead out of the more than 3 million votes cast.

The razor-thin vote difference between Coleman and Franken -- author, funnyman and former "Saturday Night Live" writer and performer -- triggered an automatic recount after Election Day. Franken held the lead since January and a trial court in April ruled he won the highest number of legally cast votes.

Coleman challenged the results, first before a three-judge panel, then before the state Supreme Court.

Franken said taking his seat so long after the election was challenging, "but I've been trying to keep abreast of what's going on and will do my best."

Franken said Coleman told him: "(This) is going to be the best job I've ever had. I think it will be."

President Barack Obama said in a statement he looked forward to working with Franken "to build a new foundation for growth and prosperity ... ."