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Norm Coleman
Norm Coleman (b. August 17, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former Republican member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Minnesota. Coleman was first elected to the Senate in 2002. He left office in 2009 after a re-election race against Democratic challenger Al Franken that took roughly 8 months to resolve. On June 30, 2009 the Minnesota Supreme Court declared Democrat Al Franken the victor by 312 votes.[1][2] Prior to joining the U.S. Senate, Coleman served as the Mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, from 1993-2001. He was first elected as a Democrat, but switched his party affiliation to Republican in 1996.
Biography
Coleman was born and raised in New York City. After graduating from James Madison High School in Brooklyn, he attended Hofstra University for his bachelor's degree in political science. He spent his first two years of law school at Brooklyn Law School but completed his Juris Doctor at the University of Iowa College of Law in 1976. Coleman launched his legal career as a prosecutor with the Minnesota Attorney General's office. By the time he was elected the mayor of Saint Paul in 1992, Coleman had served as chief prosecutor and solicitor general.[3]
Coleman was a member of the Democratic Party when he was originally elected mayor of St. Paul. He became a Republican in 1996, and retained that party affiliation throughout his tenure in the U.S. Senate, up to the present.
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of Coleman's professional and political career:[3][4]
- 2011: Chairman of the Congressional Leadership Fund
- 2008: Candidate for United States Senate
- 2002-2008: U.S. Senate
- 1993-2001: Mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota
- 1998: Candidate for Governor of Minnesota
- 1996: Switched from Democrat to Republican
Presidential preference
2016 presidential endorsement
✓ Coleman endorsed Jeb Bush for the Republican primary in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[5]
- See also: Endorsements for Jeb Bush
Elections
2014
Coleman was considered a potential 2014 candidate for Governor of Minnesota as well as the U.S. Senate -- the latter would have set up a rematch between Coleman and Sen. Al Franken, who unseated him in 2008 -- but he ultimately decided against both races by March 2013.[6][7]
2008
On November 4, 2008, Coleman lost his bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate to Democratic challenger Al Franken. Franken won election after a lengthy hand recount that did not declare him the winner until after June of 2009.[8][9]
| U.S. Senate General Election, Minnesota, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Al Franken |
42% | 1,212,629 | |
| Republican | Norm Coleman Incumbent | 42% | 1,212,317 | |
| Independent | Dean Barkley | 15.2% | 437,505 | |
| Libertarian | Charles Aldrich | 0.5% | 13,923 | |
| Constitution | James Niemackl | 0.3% | 8,907 | |
| Independent | Michael Cavlan | 0% | 13 | |
| Independent | Anthony Keith Price | 0% | 12 | |
| Independent | Write-In | 0.1% | 2,340 | |
| Total Votes | 2,887,646 | |||
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Coleman and his wife Laurie reside in St. Paul, Minnesota. They have four children together.[3]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Norm + Coleman + Minnesota + Senate"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ United States Senate Democrats, "Reid Statement On Norm Coleman’s Concession," June 30, 2009
- ↑ Biographical Director of the United States Congress, "Coleman, Norm," accessed January 9, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Project Vote Smart, "Norm Coleman Biography," accessed January 11, 2013
- ↑ Congressional Leadership Fund, "About," accessed March 10, 2015
- ↑ Minnesota Public Radio, "Former Sen. Coleman throws support to Jeb Bush," January 25, 2015
- ↑ Star Tribune, "Norm Coleman rules out Senate run, leaves open door to a gubernatorial run," January 9, 2013
- ↑ Twitter, "Norm Coleman's Twitter Account - Statuses," March 7, 2013
- ↑ Senator Al Franken, "Official Biography," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dean Barkely (I) |
U.S. Senate - Minnesota 2003-2009 |
Succeeded by Al Franken (D) |
