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Senate race will drag into 2009

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TIMES WIRE REPORTS

Democrat Al Franken clung to a 47-vote lead over Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in the state’s U.S. Senate recount, but the winner won’t be known before January.

The state Canvassing Board scheduled a Jan. 5 meeting and its chairman said the panel’s work could spill into Jan. 6 -- the day the next Congress convenes.

The two campaigns and the secretary of state’s office are negotiating how to handle an estimated 1,600 improperly rejected absentee ballots. And the state Supreme Court heard arguments over a Coleman claim that about 130 ballots were counted twice.

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Coleman held a 215-vote lead after the initial count Nov. 4.

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