RJC names former senator, Norm Coleman, as chairman
Ex-Minnesota politician replaces David Fraum, who has headed the Republican Jewish Coalition for the past 10 years
LAS VEGAS — The Republican Jewish Coalition replaced its longtime chairman, David Flaum, with Norm Coleman, the former US senator for Minnesota.
The RJC board voted Coleman in on Friday during its annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas.
Statements by both men in the RJC release noted Republican successes during the 10 years Flaum, a real estate developer in upstate New York, was head of the group, including last year’s GOP sweep of the White House and both chambers of Congress.
The RJC campaigned heavily last year in large Jewish communities in Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, helping to keep in place incumbent GOP senators who had been perceived as vulnerable to ouster.
Coleman represented Minnesota in the US senate from 2003-2009. Al Franken, a writer and comedian who also is Jewish, defeated him in the 2008 elections by a narrow margin.
Following his reelection defeat, Coleman worked as a lobbyist on behalf of Saudi Arabia, during which he advocated for preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, a position also strongly shared by the RJC.