U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) speaks during a press conference at his campaign headquarters November 5, 2008 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Image by Cory Ryan/Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman December 8, 2017

With an open Senate seat looking likely in Minnesota, a familiar face is remerging.

Norm Coleman, the Republican Jewish senator who narrowly lost his seat to Al Franken in 2008, is now being viewed as a potential candidate for running again and reclaiming his old seat upon Franken’s resignation.

Coleman, who now serves as chairman of the Republican Jewish Committee, told reporters Wednesday that he wasn’t ruling out the idea of running again, according to The Hill.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Another possible candidate being mentioned in Republican circles is former governor Tim Pawlenty.

Franken is expected to announce his resignation on Thursday after a series of women accused him of sexual misconduct. According to Minnesota state law, Franken’s resignation would spur a November 2018 race to fill the last two years of Franken’s term, followed by a normal Senate race in 2020.

While Minnesota is seen as a blue state, it only narrowly went Democratic in 2016, with residents voting for Hillary Clinton 46.4% to Donald Trump’s 44.9%.

Coleman, who lost to Franken in a tight race which led to a lengthy recount, has recently argued that had news of Franken’s sexual misconduct floated during the 2008 campaign, it could have tipped the race in Coleman’s favor. “You’ve got to believe that photo is worth more than 312 votes,” Coleman said referring to the margin of votes that cost him his seat.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount