Norm Coleman

Norman Bertram Coleman Jr born August 17 1949 is an American politician attorney and lobbyist From 2003 to 2009 he served as a United States Senator for Minnesota From 1994 to 2002 he was mayor of Saint Paul Minnesota First elected as a member of the DemocraticFarmerLabor Party DFL Coleman became a Republican in 1996 Elected to the Senate in 2002 he was narrowly defeated in his 2008 reelection bid As of 2023 he is the most recent Republican to have represented Minnesota in the US Senate Born in New York City Coleman was elected mayor of Saint Paul Minnesotas capital and secondlargest city in 1993 as a member of the Democratic Party A liberal Democrat in his youth Coleman shifted to conservatism as an adult After conflicts with the Democratic Party over his conservative views Coleman joined the Republican Party He was reelected mayor a year later as a Republican While serving as mayor he was the Republican nominee in the 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election but lost to former professional wrestler and thirdparty candidate Jesse Ventura As mayor of Saint Paul he helped return the National Hockey League to Minnesota through the Minnesota Wild after an almost decadelong absence