Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, has released this statement on today's arguments at the Minnesota Supreme Court:

Today's hearing in the Minnesota Supreme Court was an important marker in Norm Coleman's protracted legal effort to overturn the results of last November's senate election. While Norm Coleman's desperate arguments still call for tossing-out legally-cast ballots, and counting illegally-cast ones, Al Franken was well-served by his legal team, headed by Marc Elias who impressively argued today's case.

But the bottom line is Al Franken got more votes and that is why Al Franken won the election, why Al Franken won the recount, why Al Franken won the election contest, and why he should soon prevail in the Minnesota Supreme Court. We have always said Norm Coleman deserves his day in court, but the Minnesota court system should be the end of the road for former Senator Coleman. This is a decision that should be made in Minnesota. It's been 209 days since the election, and with this Court's ruling we believe Al Franken will be entitled to an election certificate, so that he can get to work for the people of Minnesota.

The reference to the state court being the proper end of the road is meant to convey the Democratic position that once the state Supreme Court presumably rules for Franken, he should be seated immediately -- as opposed to a potential Republican effort to tie this up further in federal court.