Senate GOP Leaders Host Event for Coleman Tonight
Former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) is in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to raise funds with Senate leaders for his ongoing recount lawsuit, according to a copy of the event invitation obtained by Roll Call.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), GOP Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), GOP Policy Committee Chairman John Ensign (Nev.), National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas), GOP Conference Vice Chairman John Thune (S.D.) and GOP Conference Secretary Richard Burr (N.C.) will headline this eveningÂ’s fundraising reception at the NRSC.
Coleman trails Democrat Al Franken by 225 votes in the statewide recount in Minnesota — an election result that the one-term Republican Senator is currently contesting in a trial that is expected to last for the next couple of months. With millions of dollars in legal bills mounting over the course of the recount and the trial, Coleman is soliciting the help of Senate Republican leadership to fuel his recount campaign account.
Guests must pony up $5,000 per political action committee, or $2,300 per person to host the event, or $1,000 per PAC or $500 per person to attend the reception for the Coleman Minnesota Recount Committee.
Franken, meanwhile, is also in Washington for what his spokeswoman described as an “all-policy briefing trip.” Spokeswoman Jess McIntosh said Franken is meeting with Senate staffers, think tank professionals and the late-Sen. Paul Wellstone’s (D-Minn.) former policy adviser. He is scheduled to return to Minnesota on Wednesday.