Dems Getting Closer to Sixty?
While Minnesota recounts the ballots, Dems win key Oregon race
Democrat-turned-Republican Coleman also brought political star power to the North Star State. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani campaigned with him last week, though ultimately, the first-term senator's ties to the Bush administration made him vulnerable in the state electorate.
Come January, if the recount ends in Franken's favor, the comedian-turned-politician will join six other Democrats who defeated Republican incumbents for their Senate seats, two of them in key states and some of them high-profile losses for the GOP on the national stage.
In North Carolina, Republican incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole's reign ended in an upset from Democratic challenger Kay Hagan. In New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen wrested the Granite State's Senate seat from incumbent Sen. John Sununu. And in Oregon, incumbent Republican Sen. Gordon Smith has conceded to Democratic challenger Jeff Merkley.
Alongside the Minnesota Senate race, two others -- in Georgia and Alaska -- hang in the balance and with them Democratic and Republican congressional fortunes.
In both Alaska and Georgia, the Republican incumbents are maintaining slim leads, raising GOP hopes that they may stop the bleeding before Democrats gain a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority for the first time in a generation.
ABC News' Emily Friedman and Troy McMullen contributed to this report.
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