Updated The Minnesota Supreme Court has just issued its long-awaited judgment in the Senate race, declaring that Democrat Al Franken is the winner. And Norm Coleman, his opponent, at 4 p.m., announced that he had conceded and contacted Mr. Franken.

The 32-page unanimous decision by the state’s highest court was released after a seven-months long battle over the seat formerly held by Norm Coleman. On every ground, the judicial panel rejected Mr. Coleman’s claims of trial errors or constitutional violations, and decided that Mr. Franken’s election should be certified by the state as valid.

Mr. Coleman stepped outside his home just a short while ago to give his news conference. He indicated that he and Mr. Franken had a positive, personal talk and he told the Democrat that being senator was the “best job he’ll ever have.”

The Republican’s statement began this way: “Ours is a government of laws, not men and women. The Supreme Court of Minnesota has spoken and I respect its decision and will abide by the result. It’s time for Minnesota to come together under the leaders it has chosen and move forward. I join all Minnesotans in congratulating our newest United States Senator – Al Franken.”

With Mr. Coleman’s concession, Gov. Tim Pawlenty will assuredly sign the certificate required for Mr. Franken to be seated. The governor had indicated as late as Monday that he was willing to certify Mr. Franken as the winner once the state’s highest court decided the recount and Mr. Coleman’s battle. On CNN on Sunday, Mr. Pawlenty said: “I’m prepared to sign it as soon as they give the green light.”

Mark Ritchie, Minnesota’s secretary of state, also issued a statement saying: “This unanimous opinion of the court affirms the accuracy and fairness of Minnesota’s election laws and recount procedures. As required by Minnesota law, I will co-sign the election certificate as soon as it is issued by Governor Tim Pawlenty.”

Mr. Franken will become the Democrats’ much coveted 60th vote. That is the number required to avert filibusters, and with both Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Robert C. Byrd absent due to illness, the Democrats have sometimes scrambled to make sure they had lined up enough votes.

Leading Republicans on the opposing side were quick to point out what it believes should accompany the achievement of reaching that sought-after 60-vote pinnacle. Senator John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, first welcomed Mr. Franken to the Senate, but added: “The implications of this Senate race are particularly significant because the Democrats will now have 60 votes in the Senate. With their supermajority, the era of excuses and finger-pointing is now over. With just 59 votes, Senate Democrats in recent months have passed trillion-dollar spending bills, driven up America’s debt, made every American taxpayer a shareholder in the auto industry and now want Washington to takeover America’s health care system. It’s troubling to think about what they might now accomplish with 60 votes.”

The senator-elect’s news conference is to begin shortly.

In its decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the rulings of the trial court, which had concluded that Mr. Franken won the election by about 312 votes. Throughout this battle, Mr. Coleman and his lawyers have cited discarded or wrongly discredited absentee ballots as well as other miscounted votes as part of the evidence of problems with the state’s count in this race.

But at oral arguments on June 1, the Supreme Court judges were highly skeptical of Mr. Coleman’s claims, on the counting grounds or constitutional grounds. John Schwartz, our national legal affairs correspondent, attended the arguments and indicated the judges’ questions made it fairly clear that the panel was not persuaded it should overturn the findings of the trial court, or the State Canvassing Board before that.

That was borne out in the panel’s ruling today.

Once Mr. Coleman had conceded, the White House released this statement on behalf of President Obama: “I look forward to working with Senator-Elect Franken to build a new foundation for growth and prosperity by lowering health care costs and investing in the kind of clean energy jobs and industries that will help America lead in the 21st century.”

Earlier, Senator Bob Menendez, the chairman of the National Democratic Senatorial Committee, urged a resolution to the race:

“As we’ve seen over the past 238 days, no matter how many times Norm Coleman goes to court, the result of the election never changes: Al Franken earned more votes than Norm Coleman. Al Franken was elected to the Senate and he ought to be able to get to work for the people of Minnesota. We’ve always said that Norm Coleman deserved his day in court, and he got eight months. Now we expect Governor Pawlenty to do the right thing, follow the law, and sign the election certificate. From health care to the Supreme Court to getting our economy moving again, the challenges facing us are complex and we need Al Franken in the Senate. In this historic and urgent moment in our history, Minnesotans have gone long enough without full representation. Al Franken will be an critical voice on the issues before us and it’s time to let him get to work.”

As for Mr. Coleman, he did not disclose his future plans at the news conference outside his home. Asked whether he would run for governor of Minnesota (Mr. Pawlenty has decided not to seek re-election), Mr. Coleman would only say that he was merely pondering how better to catch fish after apparently experiencing a poor catch this past weekend.

Despite what many in Minnesota viewed as a stubborn refusal to concede, Mr. Coleman said today: “I have never believed that my service is irreplaceable. We have reached the point where further litigation damages the unity of our state, which is also fundamental. In these tough times, we all need to focus on the future. And the future today is we have a new United States senator.”

Just this morning, MSNBC’s First Read listed several factoids that have accumulated during this fight:

$51.1 million has been raised between Coleman and Franken for the entire campaign
– $50.3 million has been spent between the two candidates
– $11 million (at least) has been spent on the recount
– 2,424,946 votes were cast
– 312 votes separate the candidates (Franken leads)
– 239 days since Election Day 2008
– 34 weeks since Election Day 2008
– 7 months, 27 days since Election Day 2008
– 4 seasons seen since Election Day 2008 election.