Minnesota Politics

Being a DC resident, you tend to miss out on the really nasty campaigns and campaign ads. The Democratic primaries are the de facto elections in DC and the jockeying for position in those campaigns isn't the same kind of scorched Earth bloodsport you see in other areas.

Despite the fact that we don't have a TV here, I've seen quite a few political ads over the last four months. One of the nastiest races in the country was right here in Minnesota that featured Al Franken (of Saturday Night Live fame and Air America infamy) taking on incumbent Norm Coleman and just for an extra whiff of drama there was third party candidate Dean Barkley. This race is shaping up to be one of the closest in Senate history.

The entire campaign was full of nasty attack ads, many of them sponsored by the DNC's and GOP's senate election campaigns. After slinging all the mud he could, Coleman engaged in a chicken-hearted call for an end to attack ads near the end of the campaign. Not surprisingly, Coleman was heckled by Franken's people and the ridiculous smears continue to fly from both sides.

Now with the margin separating the candidates standing at 206 votes, Minnesota is headed to a recount. Accusations of voter fraud have been lobbed and questions are being raised about some of the voting machines used in Minnesota as well.