UPDATE (6 a.m. Wednesday): Wow, is the Senate race close. 99.7% in, and Coleman leads by just over 1,000 votes. We are headed for a recount, without question. I remain confident that Al Franken has lost, but my goodness, this should not have been this close. That 11th hour attack from Texas hurt Norm more than seemed likely. Meanwhile, Erik Paulsen ends up winning comfortably and Michele Bachmann squeaks by. Actually, that's probably the best possible result. As much as I like Michele Bachmann, her propensity to shoot from the hip is something that she needs to curb. I hope she learns the right lessons from this near-death experience.
Meanwhile, closer to home. . . .
We may be up a while tonight on the Senate race, but as the numbers continue to come in, it's looking like Norm Coleman will narrowly win over the execrable Al Franken. As I write, 80% of the vote is in and Norm has maintained a lead. I'm not going to stay up all night, but I'm pretty confident based on the precincts that seem to be outstanding.
Meanwhile, it looks like Michele Bachmann and Erik Paulsen will be going to Washington. Their opponents, Elwyn Tinklenberg and Aswin Madia, are both as execrable as Al Franken. Both richly deserve the defeat that apparently is coming. I'm especially happy for Paulsen, who has been the victim of a highly dishonest campaign from Madia and his surrogates.
Our local candidates, Ed Matthews and Lori Grivna, did not win, either. Ed Matthews has a bright future -- he's a very talented guy and I really hope he stays in the mix. Lori ran a good and honorable campaign but she ended up getting swamped by outside money and an especially pernicious last-minute ad blitz that she could not counter. I'm not sure what Lori is going to do going forward, but I still believe that Kate Knuth can be beaten. Lori has a positive role to play in this community and I hope that she stays visible in the district, since things may look very different in 2010.
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