Published: June 01, 2009 11:04 am         

NEW: Coburn to run again in 2010

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Sen. Tom Coburn, the Oklahoma Republican who has built a reputation as an anti-earmarks crusader, said Monday he will seek a second term.

Coburn, a medical doctor, was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, defeating Democrat Brad Carson with 53 percent of the vote.

During the 2004 campaign, Coburn pledged to serve no more than two terms in the Senate if he won. No other candidates have announced plans to seek the post in 2010.

Coburn has worked to stall home-state projects, known as “earmarks,” that other senators try to slip into legislation.

In 2005, Coburn tried to strip $452 million for two Alaska bridges — one known as the “Bridge to Nowhere,” which was to link a small Alaskan town with its airport on a nearby island.

The Senate ended up approving money for the bridges.

During the presidential campaign, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, presenting her credentials as a reformer, told an audience that she had told Congress “thanks, but no thanks” when it came to funding for the Bridge to Nowhere. However, she had favored federal funding for the structure before she turned against it.

Coburn claims to have saved taxpayers $3 billion with his fight against unnecessary spending.

Coburn, an obstetrician by training, has also been outspoken in his opposition to embryonic stem cell research, saying claims of imminent scientific breakthroughs from this research are unsubstantiated, and that adult stem cells have already been shown to be useful in a variety of cases.

Coburn represented Oklahoma’s Second Congressional District in the House of Representatives from 1995 through 2001.