MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – Democrat Al Franken beat Republican incumbent Norm Coleman to win the U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota, officials conducting a final recount said on Monday, though the loser promised to challenge the result. The outcome found Franken edged Coleman by 225 votes out of nearly 2.9 million votes cast, but Coleman’s lawyer complained the recount was conducted unfairly and promised a court contest that could take weeks to resolve. “I don’t think this is the last chapter. No system was designed to handle a race this close without a few squeaks,” said Eric Magnuson, chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court and a member of the state Canvassing Board that oversaw the recount.
