(WDCpix)

Former Sen. Norm Coleman (WDCpix)

When Norm Coleman gathered the media at his St. Paul residence last week to announce that he was conceding the U.S. Senate contest after a nearly eight-month post-election battle, he hit all the appropriate notes for appearing gracious in defeat. The Republican repeatedly congratulated his Democratic challenger, praised the integrity of the Minnesota Supreme Court and hailed Minnesotans as the smartest, most decent folks on the planet. It was a relaxed, even folksy display of Coleman’s redoubtable political skills — a tone noticeably missing during the bitter fight with Al Franken.

At the close of the press conference, however, Coleman made perhaps his most illuminating comment. Pressed on his future political plans, he didn’t duck the question as inappropriate for a day on which he was conceding a previous political contest. Rather, the former senator promised prompt news on that front.

“Sometime next week I presume I’ll be talking a little bit about what the future is,” he said.

That teasing answer caught political observers off guard and has fueled speculation that Coleman may turn around and run for governor in 2010.

“I was shocked by it,” says Larry Jacobs, director of the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. “He was using the announcement almost as a boomerang into the next campaign.”

While some political prognosticators are highly skeptical that Coleman will wage a gubernatorial bid in 2010, the specter of another campaign raises an intriguing question: Is Norm Coleman still politically viable?

There’s little doubt that he comes out of the battle with Franken as somewhat damaged goods. As far back as January both candidates registered approval ratings south of 40 percent — and it’s doubtful the intervening six months have done anything to bolster public sentiment. Most Minnesotans would be happy not to see either of their mugs until ice-fishing season.

In addition, Coleman may have run out of chances to prove his political mettle in a statewide campaign. He’s now lost two of three such races, including a 1998 bid for governor. Even Coleman’s 2002 Senate victory carries an asterisk, owing to the death of Paul Wellstone just 11 days before the election.

But few political observers count Coleman out of the contest. He’s an unusually adroit politician who further endeared himself to the GOP base by taking the Senate contest all the way to the state’s top court despite repeated calls for him to concede. In addition, with Tim Pawlenty opting not to seek a third term, the GOP gubernatorial field looks to be a wide-open affair with no obvious favorite. Even so, Coleman can’t be considered a shoo-in for endorsement if he enters the fray.

“I think that he would be among the front-runners,” says Greg Peppin, a GOP political consultant who is advising former House Speaker Steve Sviggum on a potential gubernatorial bid. “I think he would be in the top tier.”

Peppin believes the taint from the ugly Senate fight will fade as the contest recedes from the headlines. “It was kind of a pox on both their houses, but I don’t see that lasting for either of them,” he says.

Coleman would easily have the widest name recognition among the current crop of contenders. He’d also bring a proven track record of raising revenue in what’s likely to be a very expensive race.

“The amount of money this guy raises is just stunning,” says Jacobs. “This is a guy who has been in the big fights and knows how to put together a plan for a campaign and then stick to it.”

Former Republican U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger agrees that the voting public won’t continue to punish Coleman for taking the contest to the state’s top court. But he believes Coleman will be hurt by a hallmark of his six years in Washington: fealty to the Bush administration.

“He will have to answer for appearing to be George Bush’s man from Minnesota,” says Durenberger, who supported Coleman in the 2008 campaign.

Coleman’s plans, however, will likely be driven by more than simple political calculus. The Senate campaign revealed numerous indications that the Republican’s vaunted fundraising ability doesn’t extend to his personal bank account.

In January it was revealed that Coleman had refinanced his St. Paul residence 12 times over the last 14 years, most recently in 2007 for $775,000. In addition, Harper’s Magazine reported that longtime Coleman patron Nasser Kazeminy had purchased suits for the then-senator at the Neiman Marcus store in Minneapolis. Finally a pair of lawsuits filed just days before the election alleged that Kazeminy attempted to funnel $100,000 to Coleman through a Minneapolis insurance firm. The businessman’s purported reason for this political philanthropy: “Senators don’t make shit.”

Eyeing age 60, with two kids currently in college, it seems likely that Coleman might be seeking a post more financially rewarding than the governor’s $180,000 salary.

“I’m not sure he can afford to be governor with his private debt load,” says David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University. “He may actually need at this point to say, ‘Gosh, I can’t run for governor.’ That could very well factor in to what he’s going to do down the line.”

Durenberger expresses similar misgivings about any future campaigns for Coleman. He believes the former senator would be better served by stepping away from public life.

“Does he have legs?” Durenberger asks of Coleman’s political future. “Yes. I’d rather he trotted off into civilian life, but that’s just a personal thing.”