Chris Coons is an American politician and as of 2018, the junior United States Senator from Delaware. Coons is also a member of the Democratic Party.
The Early Years of Chris Coons
Chris Coons was born on September 9, 1963, in Greenwich, Connecticut to Sarah and Kenelm Coons. The family moved to Hockessin, Delaware where Chris attended the public Yorklyn Elementary School. He would later attend H.B. DuPont Middle School before finally graduating high school from Tower Hill School. Coons then attended Amherst College in Massachusetts and graduated in 1985 with a B.A. in chemistry and political science. Coons attended Yale University for his graduate studies and graduated with a master’s degree in Ethics from Yale Divinity Scholl. He also earned his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.
The Career of Chris Coons
Chris Coons began his career in law by clerking for Jane Richards Roth, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He then moved to the National “I have a Dream” Foundation in New York for his profession. In 1996, Coons would return to his home state of Delaware where he began his eight-year tenure as an in-house counsel for W.L. Gore and Associates, Inc., a Newark based makers of Fore-Tex fabrics and other high-tech materials. Coons overlooked the ethics training program and federal government relations at the firm. He was also in charge of the company’s general commercial contracting.
Coons was a Republican from his childhood. He had independently campaigned for Reagan’s presidential run and also had worked on Bill Roth’s campaign for the Senate. At Amherst College, Coons after being influenced by his friends decided to become a Democrat. His democratic intentions skyrocketed when he was chosen to be a delegate from Wilmington to the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Great to meet our #NATO Allies from Canada in Latvia at Adazi Military Base outside Riga, just miles from the Russian border 2 weeks ago. Thank you to our #NATO partners & #NATO Enhanced Forward Presence for all that you do to deter Russian aggression in the Baltics! #WeAreNATO pic.twitter.com/vcNlrvpjJG
— Senator Chris Coons (@ChrisCoons) July 18, 2018
Coon’s first elected office came when he was selected to preside over the New Castle County Council in 2000. He remained the president of the council for four years after which he was elected to be the county executive. In 2010, Coons decided to run in the special election for the U.S. Senate after the resignation of Joe Biden. Although considered an underdog especially because of the race-based campaigning of the rival Republican candidate, Coons was able to secure the position of Senator. His selection was also threatened when an article Coons had written in college went public. The article titled “Chris Coons: The Making of a Bearded Marxist” documented Coons’s apparent change from a republic to a Democrat. The article was widely criticized by Fox media, a news outlet that has been vocal about its support of the Republican Party.
During the 2014 elections, Coons was re-elected to represent the state of Delaware in the U.S Senate after defeating Republican candidate Kevin Wade and the Green Party challenger Andre Gross.
Personal Life and Net Worth of Chris Coons
Chris Coons is married to Annie Coons (nee Lingenfelter). The couple has three children together: Mike, Jack, and Maggie. The family resides in Wilmington, Delaware. Coons has an estimated net worth of $9 million dollars.
Interesting Facts about Chris Coons
1. Coons is a Presbyterian but attends a Catholic Church because of his wife’s faith.
2. Coons credits his abroad study program to Kenya for prompting him to change his political beliefs.
