Two Minnesota records: Earliest budget, longest span without a second U.S. senator

According to two local blogs, we’re seeing history here: The still-unresolved U.S. Senate race, now in its 79th day, sets a Minnesota record for the longest span gone without a second senator, and the state budget, according to Democrats, was delivered this year earlier than any budget targets in the last nine decades.

At midnight this morning, writes Smart Politics’ Eric Ostermeier, the state of Minnesota surpassed a record set in 1923, when it took 78 days to schedule a special election to replace Republican Knute Nelson, who died while in office. The old record should be trounced, though: After acknowledging the likelihood of a loss by Norm Coleman when the three-judge panel hearing his election contest rules, Coleman attorney Joe Friedberg says the campaign will likely appeal the ruling.

Meanwhile, TPT’s Mary Lahammer reports that DFL Sens. Dick Cohen and Tarryl Clark announced that legislative budget targets have been delivered the “earliest in decades, since 1917 as best as we can tell.” But, another caveat:

Despite the early arrival of legislative budgets, the Capitol is still full of pessimism that lawmakers and the governor will agree on anything in time for the regular session to end May 18.  Democrats are a billion dollars apart on education.  Gov. Pawlenty and Democrats are about $2 billion apart on tax increases.  Despite the federal money, there’s still a huge $4 billion dollar shortfall.