Senator Franken?

The ongoing recount battle in Minnesota between Al Franken and incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman turned in Franken's favor today as the state canvassing board voted to allow 1,600 previously rejected absentee ballots to be counted. Observers expect the votes to break towards Franken based on pre-election polling of absentee voters. In a race where at one point Franken claimed to be ahead by 4 votes, the decision could tip the scales in his favor. Coleman, meanwhile, may be heading the way of Ted Stevens: A report from a local Fox affiliate says that Coleman may have been under financial stress at the time a Texas businessman allegedly tried to bribe him via payments to Coleman’s wife’s company.