Al Franken's 2008 United States Senate election opponent had previously been a member of which political party before becoming a Republican?
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United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2008 The 2008 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 4, 2008. After a legal battle lasting over eight months, Al Franken from the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) defeated Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in one of the closest elections in the history of the Senate. Al Franken took his oath of office on July 7, 2009, more than half a year after the beginning of his term on January 3, 2009.
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Norm Coleman Norman Bertram Coleman Jr., (born August 17, 1949) is an American lobbyist, lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Senator from Minnesota from 2003 until 2009. Before that, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota from 1994 to 2002. Previously a member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Coleman became a Republican in 1996. Coleman was elected to the Senate in 2002 and served one term, losing his 2008 reelection bid by 312 votes (out of over 3 million cast).
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Bob Packwood Robert William Packwood (born September 11, 1932) is a U.S. politician from Oregon and a member of the Republican Party. He resigned from the United States Senate, under threat of expulsion, in 1995 after allegations of sexual harassment, abuse and assault of women emerged.
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Warren Rudman Warren Bruce Rudman (May 18, 1930November 19, 2012) was an American attorney and Republican politician who served as United States Senator from New Hampshire between 1980 and 1993. He was known as a moderate centrist, to such an extent that President Clinton approached him in 1994 about replacing departing Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen in Clinton's cabinet, an offer that Rudman declined.
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Lenn Hannon Lenn Hannon (July 4, 1943 – April 1, 2010) was the second-longest-serving state senator in the history of the U.S. state of Oregon. He held office from 1974 to 2001, switching from the Democratic to the Republican party in 1980. He represented Oregon's 26th district, in southern Jackson County. His political career began when he defeated Republican Lynn Newbry in 1974 by just 37 votes. He earned the nickname "Landslide Lenn" for squeaking by this and other votes.
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Fred Thompson Fred Dalton Thompson (born Freddie Dalton Thompson; August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, film and television actor, and radio host. Thompson, a Republican, served in the United States Senate representing Tennessee from 1994 to 2003, and was a GOP presidential candidate in 2008.
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Larry Dixon (politician) Larry Dixon (born August 31, 1942) is a Republican former member of the Alabama Senate. He represented the 25th District from 1983 to 2010. He did not seek re-election in 2010 and retired from elective politics. Previously he was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1978 through 1982.
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David Zien David Allen Zien (born March 15, 1950) is an American politician who represented Wisconsin's 23rd Senate district as a Republican member of the Wisconsin State Senate.
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Kay Hagan Janet Kay Hagan (née Ruthven; born May 26, 1953) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator from North Carolina from 2009-15. Previously she served in the North Carolina Senate from 1999 to 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
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Iraq Veterans for Congress Iraq Veterans for Congress was a political organization consisting of military veterans who were Republican candidates for the United States House of Representatives in 2008.
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John V. Kelly John Vincent Kelly, Sr. (July 11, 1926 – October 30, 2009) was an American Republican Party politician who served as Mayor of Nutley, New Jersey and served nine terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, before losing two electoral bids to win a seat in the New Jersey Senate.
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Frank W. Nolen Frank William Nolen (born December 26, 1939) is an American politician who served as a member of the Virginia Senate. Winning a special election to succeed H. Dunlop Dawbarn after his retirement, he lost reelection to J. Marshall Coleman. When Coleman resigned to become Attorney General, Nolen won back his old seat.
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Frank Fahrenkopf Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. (born August 28, 1939) is an American lawyer, politician, and lobbyist who was chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1983 to 1989. Fahrenkopf is co-founder, and currently co-chairman, of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which conducts the United States general election presidential and vice presidential debates. In the private sector, Fahrenkopf most recently served as the American Gaming Association's first president, and retired from the position in 2013.
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Gwenyfred Bush Gwenyfred Bush, better known as Gwen Bush, is an American politician from South Carolina, a member of the Republican Party.
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Ron Kirk Ronald Kirk (born June 27, 1954) is an American lawyer, politician and member of the Democratic Party.
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Lee Atwater Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater (February 27, 1951 – March 29, 1991) was an American political consultant and strategist for the Republican Party. He was an adviser to US presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and chairman of the Republican National Committee. Atwater aroused controversy through his aggressive campaign tactics, such as using "weasel" questions to achieve favorable poll results.
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Allen West (politician) Allen Bernard West (born February 7, 1961) is an American political commentator, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, West represented Florida 's 22 congressional district in the House from 2011 to 2013.
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Mac Collins Michael Allen Collins (born October 15, 1944), American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2005, representing the  's 8 congressional district (previously  's 3 congressional district from 1993 to 2003). He was an unsuccessful candidate for Senate in 2004.
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Tim Leslie Robert Timothy Leslie (born February 4, 1942) is an American politician from California and a member of the Republican Party.
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Michael Goschka Michael Goschka (born October 21, 1953) is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He was a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives from 1993 through 1998. He was then elected to the Michigan State Senate and served as Senator from 1999 through 2007.
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Dean Barkley Dean Malcolm Barkley (born August 31, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who briefly served as a United States Senator from Minnesota from 2002 to 2003. A founder and chair of the Minnesota Reform Party (the predecessor of the Independence Party of Minnesota), he chaired Jesse Ventura's successful 1998 gubernatorial campaign; Ventura subsequently appointed him director of the state's Office of Strategic and Long Range Planning, and appointed Barkley to the U.S. Senate after the death of Paul Wellstone. Barkley ran as the Independence Party's candidate for the Senate in 2008, finishing third as Democrat Al Franken defeated the Republican incumbent Norm Coleman by 312 votes.
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Al Franken Alan Stuart "Al" Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American writer, comedian, and politician. Since 2009, he has been the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He became well known in the 1970s and 1980s as a writer and performer on the television comedy show "Saturday Night Live". After decades as a comedic actor and writer, he became a prominent liberal political activist. Franken was first elected to the United States Senate in 2008 in a razor-thin victory over incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman, and then won re-election in 2014 over Republican challenger Mike McFadden. Franken is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), an affiliate of the Democratic Party.