With Specter Switch, Minnesota Senate Race Could Drag On for Months -- or Longer

Six months after the general election, the U.S. Senate is still one lawmaker short of a full deck. But don't expect that to change any time soon.

It could be months, even years, before either Republican Norm Coleman or Democrat Al Franken represents Minnesotans in their vacant U.S. Senate seat. The contested race, which has been stuck in court since last year, is getting renewed attention now that former Republican Sen. Arlen Specter has switched parties.

A win by Franken would give Democrats a coveted 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority -- and that means Republicans are even less likely to give up the seat without a fight.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has said the court fight could take years, leading Democrats, particularly in light of Specter's defection, to pressure Cornyn and his colleagues to drop the legal challenge.

"He wants to fight it in federal court and he said if necessary we'll take years to fight this Minnesota Senate seat," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill, said Monday, adding that Minnesotans deserve to have two senators in Washington.

"That's really unfortunate, and I think unfair," Durbin said.

Cornyn released a statement Monday invoking the contested 2000 presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore, in defending his commitment to Coleman's case.

"It's blatant hypocrisy that many of the same Democrats who so loudly complained about voter disenfranchisement during the 2000 Florida recount have been so willing to compromise their principles when it no longer fits their political agenda," he said.

Next up in the showdown is a date at the Minnesota Supreme Court. But it's already getting complicated.

Two of the seven state justices have removed themselves from the case because they were involved in earlier recounts. Three others may have conflicts as well, based on past political donations.

If Coleman ultimately loses there, heading into the federal court system on a constitutional challenge will certainly be an option. And though getting to the U.S. Supreme Court is a long shot that could take years, election law analysts say it may be the only way to satisfy all parties.

"If you don't deal with all of the issues that have been raised in this case, then you know a lot of people are going to be questioning whether the real winner who actually ends up in the seat is actually the person who won the race, and that's not good for the kind of election process that we have, said Hans Von Spakovsky, with the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, has pledged to follow the law in the case.

"Minnesota law clearly states that an election certificate cannot be issued until a court of proper jurisdiction has made a ruling in an election contest. A recent decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld that law," his office said in a written statement. "Governor Pawlenty will follow Minnesota law and the determinations of the courts and will issue an election certificate at the appropriate time."

FOX News' Shannon Bream contributed to this report.