Christopher A. Coons - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Christopher Andrew "Chris" Coons (born September 9, 1963) is the junior United States senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

from Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

and a member of the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

. He won a special election

United States Senate special election in Delaware, 2010

The 2010 United States Senate special election in Delaware took place on November 2, 2010 concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. It was a special election to...

in 2010 to succeed Joe Biden

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

, who had resigned to become Vice President. Previously, Coons was the county executive

County executive

A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position...

of New Castle County

New Castle County, Delaware

New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 its population was 538,479, an increase of 7.6% over the previous decade. The county seat is Wilmington. The center of population of Delaware is located in New Castle County, in the town of...

. Coons is the 1983 Truman Scholar from Delaware, and the first recipient of the award to serve in the United States Senate.

A native of Hockessin, Delaware

Hockessin, Delaware

Hockessin is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 12,902 at the 2000 census. The place name may be derived from the Lenape word "hòkèsa" meaning "pieces of bark" or from a misspelling of "occasion," as pronounced by the Quakers who settled...

, Coons graduated from Amherst College

Amherst College

Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...

and received graduate degrees from Yale Divinity School

Yale Divinity School

Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...

and Yale Law School

Yale Law School

Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...

. He went to work as a volunteer relief worker in Kenya, where he had taken classes, later returning to the U.S. to work for the Coalition for the Homeless

Coalition for the Homeless

…The National Coalition for the Homeless is a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others committed to a single mission...

in New York. He spent some time as a legal clerk in New York before returning to Delaware in 1996, where he spent eight years as in-house counsel for a materials manufacturing company. In the interim he worked for several nonprofit organizations.

He worked on several political campaigns in his early career, including Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

's 1980 presidential campaign. In college he switched from being a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

to a Democrat, and in 1996 he became a delegate from Wilmington to the Democratic National Convention

1996 Democratic National Convention

The 1996 Democratic National Convention of the was held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois from August 26 to August 29, 1996. Incumbent Democrat Bill Clinton was renominated for President of United States.-Site selection:...

in Chicago. His political career began in earnest on the New Castle County

New Castle County, Delaware

Council in 2000, where he served as council president. He was elected county executive in 2004 and served for six years. There he balanced the county budget with a surplus in fiscal year 2010 by cutting spending and raising taxes, and the county maintained a AAA bond rating.

Coons won the 2010 special election

United States Senate special election in Delaware, 2010

against the Republican

Republican Party (United States)

candidate Christine O'Donnell

Christine O'Donnell

Christine Therese O'Donnell is an American Republican Party politician who founded two advocacy organizations. She has been an advocate for nonprofit clients and nonprofit causes for nearly 20 years. A Tea Party favorite, and with strong financial support from the Tea Party movement, she defeated...

for the U.S. Senate seat then held by Ted Kaufman

Ted Kaufman

Edward E. "Ted" Kaufman is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Delaware from 2009 to 2010. Since 2010, he has chaired the Congressional Oversight Panel in the United States federal government; he is the second person to hold that post, succeeding inaugural holder...

, who was appointed after Joe Biden

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

resigned. Coons is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs

United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs

The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs is one of seven subcommittees of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.-Jurisdiction:...

Early life and education

Coons grew up in Hockessin, Delaware

Hockessin, Delaware

. He graduated from the Tower Hill School

Tower Hill School

Tower Hill School is a private, college preparatory school located at 2813 West 17th Street in Wilmington, Delaware, offering instruction for pre-school through 12th grade. The school was founded in 1919 on the basis of commitment to progressive education methods. It has an excellent academic...

and then Amherst College

Amherst College

in 1985 with a B.A. in chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

and political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

. In 1983, Chris Coons was awarded the Truman Scholarship

Truman Scholarship

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is a highly competitive federal scholarship granted to U.S. college juniors for demonstrated leadership potential and a commitment to public service. The scholarship is in the amount of $30,000 toward a graduate education...

. During his junior year of college, Coons studied abroad at the University of Nairobi

University of Nairobi

The University of Nairobi is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution goes back to 1956, it did not become an independent university until 1970 when the University of East Africa was split into three independent universities: Makerere University in...

in Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

. He earned a M.A.R. from Yale Divinity School

Yale Divinity School

Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...

and a J.D.

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

from Yale Law School

Yale Law School

Professional career

After college, Coons worked in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, for the Investor Responsibility Research Center, where he wrote a book on South Africa and the U.S. divestment movement

Disinvestment from South Africa

Disinvestment from South Africa was first advocated in the 1960s, in protest of South Africa's system of Apartheid, but was not implemented on a significant scale until the mid 1980s...

. He then worked as a volunteer for the South African Council of Churches

South African Council of Churches

The South African Council of Churches is an interdenominational forum in South Africa. It was a prominent anti-apartheid organisation during the years of apartheid in South Africa. Its leaders have included Desmond Tutu, Beyers Naudé and Frank Chikane....

and as a relief worker in Kenya, before returning to the U.S. to work for the Coalition for the Homeless

Coalition for the Homeless

in New York. In 1992, he earned a J.D. degree from Yale Law School

Yale Law School

, and a master's degree in ethics

Ethics

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

from Yale Divinity School

Yale Divinity School

Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...

.

Coons clerked for Judge

Federal judge

Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state / provincial / local level.-Brazil:In Brazil, federal judges of first instance are chosen exclusively by public contest...

Jane Richards Roth

Jane Richards Roth is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She assumed senior status on May 31, 2006.-Biography:...

on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:* District of Delaware* District of New Jersey...

, and then worked for the National "I Have a Dream" Foundation in New York. After returning to Delaware in 1996, Coons began his eight-year career as in-house counsel for W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Newark, Delaware

Newark, Delaware

Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :...

-based makers of Gore-Tex

Gore-Tex

Gore-Tex is a waterproof/breathable fabric, and a registered trademark of W. L. Gore and Associates. It was co-invented by Wilbert L. Gore, Rowena Taylor, and Gore's son, Robert W. Gore. Robert Gore was granted on April 27, 1976, for a porous form of polytetrafluoroethylene with a...

fabrics and other high-tech materials. There he was responsible for the ethics training program, federal government relations, e-commerce legal work, and for general commercial contracting.

He has also worked with several nonprofits, including the Council for the Homeless, the education-oriented “I Have a Dream” Foundation of Delaware, and the South African Council of Churches

South African Council of Churches

, and serves on several boards including First State Innovation, the Bear/Glasgow Boys & Girls Club, and the Delaware College of Art & Design

Delaware College of Art & Design

The Delaware College of Art and Design was founded in 1997 through a partnership between the Pratt Institute and the Corcoran College of Art and Design. DCAD’s mission is to educate talented and committed students to become art makers, idea generators, problem solvers, and visual communicators who...

Early political career

Coons first became involved in politics working on behalf of Republican politicians, first for Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

's presidential campaign in 1980 and then for Bill Roth

William V. Roth, Jr.

William Victor "Bill" Roth, Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II and a member of the Republican Party, who served as U.S. Representative and U.S...

's Senate campaign in 1982. During college, he switched from being a Republican to a Democrat and in 1988, Coons worked as a volunteer for the Senate campaign of Democratic Delaware Lt. Gov. Shien Biau Woo. He was a delegate from Wilmington to the 1996 Democratic National Convention

1996 Democratic National Convention

in Chicago.

His first elected office was president of the New Castle County Council, elected in 2000 and serving four years before being elected county executive in 2004. He was the endorsed candidate of the New Castle County Democratic Party in 2008, and was re-nominated by the party on September 9, 2008. Coons was re-elected on November 4, 2008, unopposed in the general election. In his six years in office as county executive, Coons balanced the budget with a surplus in fiscal year 2010 by cutting spending and raising taxes. New Castle County

New Castle County, Delaware

maintained a AAA bond rating throughout his tenure.

2010 election

Coons ran in the 2010 special election

United States Senate special election in Delaware, 2010

against the Republican

Republican Party (United States)

candidate Christine O'Donnell

Christine O'Donnell

for the U.S. Senate seat then held by Ted Kaufman

Ted Kaufman

, who was appointed after Joe Biden

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

resigned.

In the first post-primary polls, Rasmussen Reports

Rasmussen Reports

Rasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and...

showed Coons with a double-digit lead over O'Donnell, describing this as a "remarkable turnaround" as the race had been leaning Republican until O'Donnell upset Mike Castle in the Republican primary election. In the first week of October, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded as a junior college in 1942. It now has several campuses located in New Jersey, Canada, and the United Kingdom.-Description:...

's PublicMind Poll
released the results of its research, showing Coons with a 17-point lead, 53%-36%, over O'Donnell, and pointing out that 85% of self-identified Democratic voters had united behind Coons, while only 68% of Republican voters endorsed O'Donnell. Days before the election, a second Fairleigh Dickinson poll showed Coons leading 57% to 36% among likely voters, and leading 72% to 20% among voters who described themselves as moderates. As polls closed at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

Eastern Standard Time

Eastern Standard Time may refer to:*North American Eastern Time Zone, UTC-5*Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10*An album by Hip Hop group Kooley High...

, multiple news sources announced that Coons had defeated O'Donnell based on exit poll data. Final results gave Coons close to a 17-point margin over O'Donnell, capturing 56.6% of the vote to her 40%.

During the campaign, a controversy arose surrounding an article Coons wrote in 1985 for his college newspaper, entitled "Chris Coons: The Making of a Bearded Marxist". In it, he describes his transformation from a Republican to what Fox News described as a "Democrat suspicious of America's power and ideals." Dave Hoffman, a Coons campaign spokesman, said the title of the article was designed as a humorous take-off on a joke Coons' college friends had made about how his time outside the country had affected his outlook. "After witnessing crushing poverty and the consequences of the Reagan Administration's 'constructive engagement

Constructive engagement

Constructive engagement was the name given to the policy of the Reagan Administration towards the apartheid regime in South Africa in the early 1980s...

' with the South African apartheid regime, he rethought his political views, returned to the America he loved and proudly registered as a Democrat," Hoffman said in a statement to Politico
Politico (newspaper)
The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...

.

According to Fox News, Coons was "targeted by Republicans" over the 25-year-old piece. Coons himself downplayed the article, as well as controversial past statements by his opponent Christine O'Donnell

Christine O'Donnell

, saying that voters were interested in current issues such as job creation and the national debt and were not "particularly interested in statements that either of us made 20 or 30 years ago." David Weigel

David Weigel

David "Dave" Weigel , is an American journalist, currently working for Slate magazine and MSNBC. Weigel began appearing on MSNBC in 2009, accepting a position as a paid contributor in June 2010...

, writing in Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...

, opined: "If the Tea Party Express

Tea Party Express

The Tea Party Express is a California-based group founded in the summer of 2009 to support the Tea Party movement. Founded as a national bus tour to rally Tea Party activists, the group's leadership also endorses and promotes conservative candidates running for state and federal offices...

slings the 'bearded Marxist' nonsense, I doubt it will work."

Tenure

Coons was sworn in as a senator on November 15, 2010, by Vice President Joe Biden, the former occupant of Coons' seat in the Senate. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin

Joe Manchin

Joseph "Joe" Manchin III is the junior United States Senator representing West Virginia. Manchin, a Democrat, was Governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010...

(from West Virginia) was sworn in on the same day. He succeeded appointed U.S. senator and former Biden aide Ted Kaufman

Ted Kaufman

. His current term will expire in 2015.

Committee assignments

Committee on Budget
Committee on Foreign Relations
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as...
- Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
  United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
  The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs is one of seven subcommittees of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.-Jurisdiction:...
- Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection
- Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee, with 18 members, is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges nominated by the...
- Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
  United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
  The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts is one of seven subcommittees within the Senate Judiciary Committee.-Jurisdiction:...
- Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
- Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and nuclear waste policy, territorial policy, native Hawaiian matters, and public lands....
- Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
  United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
  The United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands is one of the five subcommittees within the House Natural Resources Committee-Members, 112th Congress:-External links:*...
- Subcommittee on Water and Power
  United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power
  The United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power is one of the five subcommittees within the House Natural Resources Committee-Members, 112th Congress:-External links:*...

Source: United States Senate

United States Senate

Electoral history

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:94%; margin:auto;"
|- style="background:#ccc;"
| Year
| Office
| Election
|
| Subject
| Party
| Votes
| %
|
| Opponent
| Party
| Votes
| %
|-
|2000
|County Council
|Primary

Primary election

A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

Democratic Party (United States)

| |7,520
| |48%
|
| |Vincent D'Anna
Martha Denison
Dwight L. Davis
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |3,220
2,414
2,370
| |21%
16%
15%
|-
|2000
|County Council
|General
|
| |Christopher A. Coons
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |113,050
| |56%
|
| |Michael Ramone
| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |87,462
| |44%
|-
|2004
|County Executive
|Primary

Primary election

Democratic Party (United States)

| |17,584
| |67%
|
| |Sherry Freebery
Richard Korn
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |4,702
4,130
| |18%
15%
|-
|2004
|County Executive
|General
|
| |Christopher A. Coons
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |131,397
| |58%
|
| |Christopher Castagno
| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |93,424
| |42%
|-
|2010
|United States Senate
|General
|
| |Christopher A. Coons
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |173,900
| |56.6%
|
| |Christine O'Donnell
| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |123,025
| |40%
|

Personal life

Coons is married to the former Annie Lingenfelter. They have three children and live in Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

.

In 1999, he was awarded the Governor's Outstanding Volunteer Award for his work with the "I Have a Dream" Foundation, the Governor's Mentoring Council, and the United Way of Delaware.

Coons has been named an honorary commander of the 166th Air Wing

166th Airlift Wing

The United States Air Force's 166th Airlift Wing is an airlift unit located at the New Castle County Airport, Delaware.-History:On 7 April 1962 the Delaware Air National Guard, with the 142nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, enlarged to "group status" as the 166th Air Transport Group and the was...

of the Delaware Air National Guard

Delaware Air National Guard

The Delaware Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is, along with the Delaware Army National Guard, an element of the Delaware National Guard...

, and is an honorary life member of the Minquadale Fire Company.

External links

U.S. Senator Chris Coons official U.S. Senate site
Chris Coons for U.S. Senate official campaign site
W.L.Gore & Assoc. company
"I Have a Dream" Foundation

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.