Norm Coleman

Norman Betram (Norm) Coleman, Jr. (born August 17, 1949) is an American lawyer and politician. He served one term as U.S. Senator for Minnesota from 2003 to 2009, and was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota from 1994 to 2002. He was previously a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) but changed his affiliation to the Republican Party in 1996.

Norm Coleman narrowly lost his reelection bid for the U.S. Senate in 2008 against Democrat Al Franken. By the time his first term ended, on January 3, 2009, the senate election was still in a mandatory recount triggered by the slim margin between the two candidates. When the results from the recount flipped the result in his opponent's favor, Coleman contested the election. On June 30, 2009, after a six-month legal battle, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected Coleman's election contest and declared Al Franken the winner.