Eyes are on Minnesota Senate race
By: Barry Casselman
March 19, 2008
The Politico
While the 2008 presidential election has already produced historic drama and surprises, the Senate race in Minnesota will draw attention as one of the most colorful and pivotal races in the country.
The state, host of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September, seems destined to have one of the most expensive and bitterly fought Senate contests anywhere.
Incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman, like his colleague Sen. John McCain from Arizona, is a conservative maverick. And it seems likely he will face television comedian Al Franken in the general election.
Coleman, a native of New York City, moved to St. Paul in the 1970s after graduating from the University of Iowa Law School to work for the attorney general, a member of the Democratic Farm Labor Party.
Coleman entered electoral politics in 1989 with a run for mayor of St. Paul. He lost that race but won the next time around, taking office as the state’s capital city seemed mired in endless economic decline. Coleman’s success in turning around St. Paul’s problems drew immediate attention.
As a moderate and anti-abortion DFL-er, Coleman found himself out of step with the increasingly liberal and abortion-rights-supporting DFL establishment, and was effectively blocked from seeking higher office in the state. Republicans approached Coleman and urged him to change parties — which he soon did.
(Continued here.)
March 19, 2008
The Politico
While the 2008 presidential election has already produced historic drama and surprises, the Senate race in Minnesota will draw attention as one of the most colorful and pivotal races in the country.
The state, host of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September, seems destined to have one of the most expensive and bitterly fought Senate contests anywhere.
Incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman, like his colleague Sen. John McCain from Arizona, is a conservative maverick. And it seems likely he will face television comedian Al Franken in the general election.
Coleman, a native of New York City, moved to St. Paul in the 1970s after graduating from the University of Iowa Law School to work for the attorney general, a member of the Democratic Farm Labor Party.
Coleman entered electoral politics in 1989 with a run for mayor of St. Paul. He lost that race but won the next time around, taking office as the state’s capital city seemed mired in endless economic decline. Coleman’s success in turning around St. Paul’s problems drew immediate attention.
As a moderate and anti-abortion DFL-er, Coleman found himself out of step with the increasingly liberal and abortion-rights-supporting DFL establishment, and was effectively blocked from seeking higher office in the state. Republicans approached Coleman and urged him to change parties — which he soon did.
(Continued here.)
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