Norm Coleman
| Norm Coleman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| U.S. Senator from Minnesota From: January 7, 2003 – January 3, 2009 | |||
| Predecessor | Dean Barkley | ||
| Successor | Al Franken | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Republican | ||
| Spouse(s) | Laurie Coleman | ||
| Religion | Judaism | ||
Norman Coleman, Jr., known as Norm Coleman (August 17, 1949 (age 75), is the former United States Senator from Minnesota and a member of the Republican Party in a heavily Democratic state.
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Early life
Coleman was born and raised in a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. He is married to actress and model Laurie Coleman. Coleman is a graduate of James Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York and Hofstra University on Long Island.
Political career
Coleman's politics have changed dramatically throughout his political career. In college, he was a liberal Democrat and protested against the Vietnam War. He ran for student senate and once wrote in his school newspaper "these conservative kids don't f#ck or get high like we do." In 1993 he was elected mayor of Saint Paul as a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). In 1996, Mayor Coleman made a major change. Saying that he was frustrated that the Democratic party he had been a part of from his youth had assumed the role of defenders of the status quo, he switched to the Republican party because he felt it held the best opportunity to bring about job growth, quality education and greater public safety. In 1997, he was reelected mayor as a Republican, with 59 percent of the vote. In 1998 he ran for Governor of Minnesota and lost to former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura. In 2002 Coleman was elected to the United States Senate, defeating former Vice President Walter Mondale.
United States Senate
Coleman was a member of four Senate committees including the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. In 2004 he ran for chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (N.R.S.C.) but was defeated by North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole by one vote. Senator Coleman calls himself pro-life and has voted against embryonic stem cell research. Coleman opposes gay marriages and civil unions. He opposed President George W. Bush's troop increase in Iraq in January 2007.
2008 Senate re-election results
Senator Coleman ran for reelection in 2008. His opponents were former U.S. Senator Dean Barkley of the Independence Party, and the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) candidate Al Franken.
After a recount, Senator Norm Coleman lost the election to Al Franken by 225 votes. Dean Barkley garnered 437,505 votes, while Senator Coleman garnered 1,212,206 votes, and Al Franken garnered 1,212,431 votes.[1] Norm Coleman's campaign filed multiple lawsuits to prevent Franken from taking office. Finally at the end of June 2009, the state supreme court ruled unanimously against Coleman's last appeal, and he conceded to Democrat Al Franken.
