2008 U.S. Senate Candidate Forum with Senator Norm Coleman

Senator Norm Coleman

Norm Coleman was raised in Brooklyn, New York. He received a bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University and a law degree from the University of Iowa Law School. After law school, he worked for 17 years with the Minnesota Attorney General’s office. From 1994 to 2002, Coleman served as the mayor of Saint Paul. Previously a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Coleman switched to the Republican Party in 1996.  In 1998, he ran for governor and narrowly lost to Independent candidate Jesse Ventura in a three way race. In 2002 Coleman was elected to the U.S. Senate. Coleman is a member of four Senate committees including the Foreign Relations Committee; Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship; Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. He also serves on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the Special Committee on Aging, and the Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs.