Julia Coleman brought out the big guns in Carver County: Her father-in-law, former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman.
If you remember Norm mainly as St. Paul’s party-switching mayor or the Republican who lost his Senate seat to Al Franken, there’s a lot to catch up on.
Since leaving the Senate, Coleman has helped build a national Republican fundraising operation and lobbied for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His son Jacob, Julia’s husband, leads the Minnesota arm of Americans for Prosperity, the Koch-founded advocacy organization.
For those of us represented by Coleman in District 48, that family network deserves a closer look.
“We’ve got the one and only Norm Coleman out in Carver County today!”, Julia Coleman posted on her Instagram account.
She must be scared, bringing in such a high-powered power broker.
She’s not alone.
Republicans are freaking out over District 48, to the tune of $160,000. If you feel like you’ve been assaulted with a sledgehammer of MAGA rhetoric during the past few months, it’s because you have.
Minnesota Public Radio reports that a shadowy right-wing group called Advance Minnesota is flooding our screens and mailboxes with heroic Julia Coleman messaging and laughably absurd Dan Kessler (Coleman’s opponent) attack ads.
That compares to $10,000 spent by the DFL Senate Caucus in the district. Really, DFL?!? Maybe it’s time to open the checkbook a bit. Just a thought.
But let’s get back to Senators Coleman.
Norm Coleman, Party-Switcher
If you’ve been around as long as I have, you’ll remember Norm Coleman as the DFL mayor of St. Paul who bragged about his college days as a bullhorn-touting anti-Vietnam War Democrat who switched parties when he saw a clearer path to run for Governor in the Republican Party.
When he switched parties, Coleman said he didn’t intend to run for Governor and yet he did, against Skip Humphrey and Jesse Ventura in 1998 and we know how that turned out.
US Senate
Norm Coleman’s next step up the political power ladder was a run for US Senate in 2002 against Senator Paul Wellstone, who was killed in a plane crash while campaigning, along with his wife Sheila, their daughter Marcia, two pilots and three staffers.
The memorial service that followed was held at Williams Arena and featured political speeches and partisan rhetoric. In his grief, Wellstone’s campaign treasurer Rick Kahn had some pointed comments directed at Republican Congressman Jim Ramstad, who was in attendance and who extended grace to Wellstone’s grieving friend. (Ramstad is the type of Republican we need to return to, by the way.)
But what I remember most about that race is how right-wing media ruthlessly weaponized that memorial service to help Norm Coleman, who ultimately defeated former Vice President Walter Mondale (who entered the race in the wake of Wellstone’s death).
Coleman served as Minnesota’s Senator till 2008, when he was defeated for re-election by Al Franken.
National Power, Dark Money & Campaign Finance Apparatus
Following his Senate departure, Coleman transitioned into national political fundraising and outside-expenditure management. In 2009 and 2010, Coleman co-founded and became chairman of the American Action Network (AAN), organized as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt social welfare organization. In October 2011, Coleman partnered with senior Republican strategists aligned with House leadership to launch the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), a Super PAC focused on the U.S. House of Representatives. Coleman has served as Chairman of the Board of both organizations and retains Chairman status.
These twin organizations function in coordination as the dominant outside-spending apparatus for House Republicans. AAN functions as a policy and issue-advocacy group that runs targeted broadcast and digital advertisements, produces research, and is not legally required to disclose its financial contributors. CLF operates as an independent expenditure-only committee registered with the Federal Election Commission, capable of accepting unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, and labor unions. AAN frequently directs multimillion-dollar operational grants into CLF to support its activities.
Under executive leadership including former President Daniel Conston, CLF and AAN collectively raised $871 million over multiple election cycles. In the 2023–2024 cycle alone, CLF raised $243.24 million and disbursed $242.60 million, of which $216.79 million was dedicated to federal independent expenditures. These outlays included large advertising reservations across competitive suburban and exurban battleground seats nationwide.
Coleman’s fundraising reach is reinforced by his position as National Chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), a role he assumed in February 2017. The RJC promotes ties between the American Jewish community and Republican officials, advocating for strong U.S.-Israel diplomatic alignment. Through this leadership role, Coleman helped cultivate ties between high-net-worth conservative donors and national party leadership.
Coleman’s fundraising activities through AAN, CLF, and the RJC rely on relationships with major financiers, including hedge fund managers, the late homebuilder Bob J. Perry, and corporate donors such as Chevron. Internal Revenue Service records indicate that AAN has received organizational grants from major trade associations, including the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the American Natural Gas Alliance.
Lobbyist For The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia
In April 2011, Coleman joined the multinational law firm Hogan Lovells US LLP (reorganized as Hogan Lovells Cadwalader US LLP in July 2026) as Senior Counsel. Coleman utilized his relationships in both the legislative and executive branches to advise corporate, industrial, and institutional clients on federal matters.
Coleman's international government affairs practice registered under FARA has focused on strategic foreign interests. His primary representation has been for the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. Under this engagement, Hogan Lovells maintained a retainer to represent the Saudi government before the U.S. Congress, the executive branch, and the media.
Coleman’s work on behalf of Saudi Arabia spanned notable geopolitical moments. During negotiations surrounding the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, Coleman lobbied lawmakers against the agreement, aligning Riyadh's opposition with RJC priorities. Amid international criticism regarding civilian casualties during the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, Coleman distributed materials to congressional offices highlighting Riyadh’s humanitarian assistance and commitment to regional stability. Following the October 2018 assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Coleman continued working to maintain U.S.-Saudi relations.
Coleman cheered Trump’s idiotic withdrawl from the deal Obama had in place with Iran and now we have Trump’s profoundly stupid war against Iran that has shut down the Strait of Hormuz and for which we are all directly paying for.
Coleman was also instrumental in securing the approval of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.
Chevron. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Those are some powerful relationships tied up in the oil industry.
Jacob Coleman
Norm Coleman’s son Jacob started his career in 2012 as District Coordinator for Erik Paulsen in the US Congress. In 2015 he ran unsuccessfully for a state Senate seat and the following year became the outreach director for the state affiliate of Norm Coleman’s American Action Network organization.
He followed that with an account executive position at the Hayes Companies for five years, during which he married Julia Schliesing (now Coleman) on September 18, 2018.
Since 2022, Jacob has been the state director for Americans for Prosperity, a sophisticated, multi-layered integrated influence engine. Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a libertarian-conservative advocacy organization founded by Charles and David Koch.
Jacob Coleman also serves as a Senior Advisor for AFP Action Minnesota.
In this leadership capacity, his responsibilities include:
Statewide Leadership & Strategy: Managing AFP-MN’s grassroots organizing, public campaigns, and legislative priorities at the Minnesota State Capitol.
Policy & Advocacy Focus: Leading campaigns centered on tax and regulatory reform, spending accountability, housing deregulation, and education freedom (read: Private schools).
Media & Public Commentary: Acting as the organization’s primary spokesperson in Minnesota, regularly authoring op-eds, delivering media commentary, and representing AFP-MN in public policy debates.
Political Action: Helping direct candidate endorsements and grassroots election mobilization through AFP Action’s state-level operations.
Oh, he’s also a Waconia city council member.
A Family Political Power Network
Hm…A former US Senator, international lobbyist and Republican political power broker; his son, a statewide political power broker and city council member; and his daughter-in-law, a state Senator who has enjoyed meteoric rise to Assistant Minority Leader at the tender age of 34.
Smells like a family business to me, built on power and influence. I mean, we’ve seen this movie before.
It’s fair to ask just whose interests Senator Julia Coleman is serving: Ours or hers?
David
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Chaska Protests
Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]
Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]
Chanhassen Protests
Every Saturday: 1st & 3rd Saturdays from 10-11am at Pedestrian Bridge over Highway 5.
Park at Discovery United Methodist Church. We have permission to park there.
2nd, 4th and 5th Saturday from 10-11am at W 78th and Kerber Boulevard.
Sign library is available.
Norwood Young America
Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)
Victoria
Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.
Waconia
Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]
SW Protectors
Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.
Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Golden Kitchen and is located at 207 N Chestnut Street #110 in Chaska. [Map]
They planned on Jacob being the Senate candidate but he has the appeal of a lead balloon. So they pushed 9 month pregnant Julia into the role. And we've never heard the end of her campaigning while pregnant since.