Coleman's own Senate battle dragged on for seven months because of legal challenges. | AP Photos Coleman to Miller: Time to quit

Former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman had some unsolicited advice for fellow Republican Joe Miller: It’s time to quit.

"I think that race is over. I think the counting’s been done. I’m not sure there’s anything that would change that,” Coleman told C-SPAN in an interview set to air on Sunday. Coleman himself fought until the bitter end of his 2008 Senate race against Democrat Al Franken, which dragged on for seven months because of a recount and legal challenges.


Earlier this week, Miller re-filed his lawsuit against the state over his race against Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who ran as a write-in candidate after Miller upset her in the primary to become the Republican nominee. In his lawsuit, Miller asks for a hand recount of his votes, and argues that voters must have spelled Murkowski’s name precisely in order for their votes to count.

Murkowski leads Miller by about 10,300 votes – including about 8,100 votes that have been challenged by the GOP nominee’s campaign – and the Associated Press has declared her to be the victor. While Murkowski’s win appears all but certain, Miller’s legal challenges have the potential to drag the contest even further. If the results are close, Miller has said he might request a recount.

It’s a situation that Coleman, who ultimately lost by only 225 votes, knows all too well.

“I made a decision in my race with Franken at a certain point in time to say, ‘Let’s not go any further,’” said Coleman. “I think at a certain point in time, you have to have some finality to these things. It should be time to move on. There's not much that you can gain by extending the process."

Coleman said that he was sympathetic to Miller, who has argued that election officials have applied different standards to count votes over the course of tabulating the results.

“I understand Joe’s frustration,” he said. “I had some of those concerns in Minnesota on a much, much, much closer race.”

But in the end, Coleman said he agreed with former GOP Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who said on his radio show that it was time for Miller to “show a little class” and “give it up and live to fight another day.”

Other Republicans remain divided over Miller’s continued pursuit of the seat. South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint continues to fundraise for the GOP nominee; the Alaska Republican Party, meanwhile, has called on Miller to concede.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which backed Miller in the primary after he defeated Murkowski, has declined to comment on the race until the results are “official.”