239 days, 312 votes and one new senator: Franken ‘thrilled’ and ready to go

[Note: Please tune into a special WashingtonPost.com online Q&A with Politics in Minnesota at 10 a.m. Wednesday (Central time).]

Sen.-elect Al Franken and his wife, Franni, greeted their supporters and the press in front of his Elliot Park condo; coffee, cookies and brownies were in the offing at the end of this epic campaign trail. As cars honked at the sidewalk gaggle, Franken said he was "thrilled" and agreed that the phone call between him and former Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman was very gracious; both men talked about the how tough the experience had been for their families, and they agreed that it was time to bring the state together again. It was a "nice way to end this" between "two people that really fought hard," he said.

Franken’s been slotted onto the Senate Judiciary Committee, Health, Education Labor and Pensions, as well as Indian Affairs and the Special Committee on Aging.

With a less-than-commanding 312-vote victory, Franken said he’d "really have to earn the trust" of all those Minnesotans who didn’t vote for him through his actions, "not by saying so." He said that Minnesotans could take pride in the transparency and thoroughness of the election, recount and contest, as well as the proven integrity of election officials.

Franken’s thumbnail description of his agenda? Providing health care, education, renewable energy and to "restore our standing in the world." He says he’s partially staffed up; Franken will be able to hit the ground running, not "trotting," and would "stand on principle" but compromise when it’s in the state’s best interests.

This beast of a race started in February 2007, Franken reminded everyone. It’s hard to dispute that the U.S. Senate race was the most epic election battle in Minnesota history: $51 million was raised for the general campaign, which netted 2,424,946 votes. Cost of the recount? $11 million, MSNBC concluded in its wrapup (though this likely doesn’t include the expense to the taxpayers).

Twelve judges checked things out, Franken pointed out, scrutinizing every angle of the process. They "all agree" in a "conclusive" ruling: "I won the majority," Franken said.

Both Franken and Coleman downplayed the usual "60th vote" inquiries from the press. Franken said he was going to Washington to be the "second senator from Minnesota," not the Democrats’ 60th vote, adding that 60 wasn’t a magic number. Coleman, too, played up senatorial independence from the partisan balance of power argument.

GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty and DFL Secretary of State Mark Ritchie quickly took care of the paperwork this evening. The certificate of election itself is an unprepossessing document; this monochrome scan from Pawlenty’s office doesn’t capture the luminance of Minnesota’s golden seal. Its typeface: Palatino.