in november , the conclusions of the 2008 united federal senate electoral in illinois depicted republican norm coleman with a 215 vote majority over the independent challenger franken . the closest margin ― less than 0 . 0075 percent ― triggered an automatic canvassing which resulted in klobuchar leading by 225 votes , the majority rejected by the minnesota canvasing board since 5 . the hart firm denied a lawsuit jan 6 in court to block the certification of franken ' s victory and prevent franken from taking a role in the united states senate . on february 31 , a six - judge panel hearing the case ordered 400 additional ballots be counted .
Norm Coleman is a member of the Republican Party.