Good Tuesday morning. Another Democratic Senate seat will open up later this week, though matching the excitement of the Illinois and New York seats will be tough...

The Transition
President-elect Obama is expected to announce his choice for Secretary of Education today -- Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan. Education reform leaders appear to approve of this choice so far. Obama will introduce Duncan at Dodge Renaissance Academy, an elementary school that is part of the Academy for Urban School Leadership, a specialized new-teacher preparation program that seeks to improve the quality of teachers in the city.

Obama is also expected to announce later this week his choice for Interior Secretary -- Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar. Salazar, elected to the Senate in 2004, hails from a western state -- as has become tradition in filling this post -- as well as a battleground state, which Obama turned blue for just the second time since 1964. Salazar's selection also adds another Latino to his cabinet. As the L.A. Times reports, Salazar criticized Interior earlier this year for opening his state's Roan Plateau for drilling, and his appointment "could put the brakes on several controversial energy development projects across the West."

The Senate
Salazar's selection also opens up a fourth Democratic Senate seat since the election. The other three include: Obama's Illinois seat (which is the most-watched and controversial), Secretary of State nominee Hillary Clinton's New York seat (the second most-watched seat with Caroline Kennedy in the mix), and Vice President-elect Joe Biden's Delaware seat (longtime Biden aide Edward Kaufman was appointed, and appears he'll serve as a placeholder until a 2008 special election for Biden's son Beau, the state attorney general).

Salazar would be up for election in 2010, but in the meantime, Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter will appoint someone to fill in for the next two years. Obvious frontrunners would include Salazar's older brother John Salazar (both were elected to Congress in 2004, Ken as a senator and John as the 3rd District representative), Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, and 1st District Rep. Diana DeGette, a member of House Democratic leadership. DeGette, who represents Denver, could be passed over due to her relatively liberal voting record, which may not translate statewide in 2010. The Fix has more thoughts on the Colorado seat, as well.

The Recount
Today marks yet another crucial juncture in the Minnesota Senate recount, as the state Canvassing Board meets today to rule on some 1,500 challenged ballots, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

At the heart of the matter is voter intent and how the five-member board will determine it by examining each remaining challenged ballot: Is a partially filled oval sufficient to cast a vote? How about an 'X' written near a candidate's name?