Christopher Coons profile

Christopher Coons, former County Executive of New Castle County, was elected in November 2010 as U.S. Senator from Delaware. New Castle County has about 500,000 residents as of the 2000 census, representing 64% of all Delaware residents.

Coons was elected to a four-year terms as County Executive in 2004 and 2008. Coons' first political race was in 2000 when he was elected as New Castle County Council President.

After law school, Coons clerked for federal Judge Jane R. Roth of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, whose husband was the late Sen. William V. Roth, Jr., Republican U.S. senator from Delaware from 1971 to 2001.

Coons next worked for the nonprofit I Have a Dream Foundation in New York, until departing to be legal counsel in 1996 for W.L Gore & Associates, Inc, manufacturer of high-tech fabrics. Mr. Coons' stepfather is W.L. Gore, company president, and his mother is Human Resources director. Gore is one of the 200 largest privately held U.S. companies. Mr. Coons was Gore legal counsel for eight years.

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