With the challenged-ballot portion of the statewide recount completed by the state’s Canvassing Board today, Al Franken has a slim 50-vote lead over incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman. While the race is still far from over — a looming post-New Year’s task will involve counting a yet-to-be-determined portion of 1,350 absentee ballots that officials believe were improperly rejected – Franken sent out a statement saying he’s “on track to win.” Last week, Minnesota’s Supreme Court authorized election officals to open the sealed absentee ballots for counting, but said both campaigns had to agree that they were improperly excluded. Over the weekend, Franken’s campaign agreed that all the ballots should be counted; Coleman’s team has OK’d the counting of only 778 so far.

Franken’s full statement after the jump.

“I’m glad to be ahead, and as it appears that we’re on track to win, I want Minnesotans to know that I’m ready to get to work for them in Washington on Day One. We still need to ensure that Minnesotans whose absentee ballots were improperly rejected aren’t disenfranchised, but we are close to the finish line. And we should all be proud of our state’s electoral process, and grateful for the dedication of our public servants, from the state canvassing board down to elections officials at the local level.”