From a MinnPost.com analysis by Eric Black

The results of Tuesday's primary contained no surprises in any federal race, by which I mean races for U.S. Senate or U.S. House.

As expected, incumbent Republican Norm Coleman easily dispatched his only challenger, Jack Shepherd, a dentist who lives in Italy and is, I kid you not, a fugitive from justice. ...

DFL-endorsed Senate candidate Al Franken trounced six other candidates for the Democratic ballot position in the general election. The runner-up, attorney Priscilla Lord Faris, made a spirited but hopeless bid (after originally supporting Franken and contributing to his campaign), based on the argument that Franken's negatives would make it impossible to beat Coleman. ...

What might have been the closest race – the Republican contest in the 1st Congressional District – also turned into a no-contest. The Mayo Clinic's Dr. Brian Davis of Rochester easily bested state Sen. Dick Day of Owatonna. Because of his prominence in the state Senate, Day started out with name advantages. But Davis was the Republican endorsee and, as usual in such cases, that proved to be an overwhelming advantage.

Read Black's full analysis for more from Minnesota's primary.

MinnPost columnist Doug Grow also wrote about the results, saying that the 30 percent showing by primary rival Priscilla Lord Faris could be a problem for Franken:

As the night wore on, Lord Faris, unknown, underfinanced and ignored by Franken and the media, was running in the 30 percent range.

What might this woman, who jumped into the race seven weeks ago, have done if anyone had taken her seriously? ...

When she got into the race, Lord Faris said she personally liked Franken. She's even given him some money.

But after seeing stories about some of his crude "satire," she decided to run. She's more convinced than ever that Franken is a flawed candidate. She doesn't sound as if she likes him so much anymore, though she said she'd never support Coleman.