Norm Coleman

Norman "Norm" Coleman, Jr. (born August 17, 1949) is the Senior United States Senator from Minnesota and a member of the Republican Party. He is currently the Senate Minority Deputy Whip, making him the third highest ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate.

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 is 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 but has voted in support of embryonic stem cell research. He opposes gay marriages and civil unions. Coleman opposed President George W. Bush's troop increase in Iraq in January of 2007.

2008 Senate reelection

Senator Coleman is running for reelection in 2008. His Democratic opponent will likely be former Air America Radio talk show host Al Franken or Minneapolis attorney Mike Ciresi. Conventional wisdom holds that the race has a chance of becoming competitive. However, a July MPR/Mason-Dixon poll shows that Coleman is ahead of Ciresi 52%-29%, and ahead of Franken 54%-32%.

External Links

• Official Site
• Coleman On the Issues
• Blogs for Norm Coleman