Dateline: 10/30/02

Realizing his candidacy could determine political control of the U.S. Senate, former Democratic Vice President Walter "Fritz" Mondale has agreed to replace Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, killed last week in a plane crash, on the Nov. 5 ballot.

In a letter to Minnesota Democratic Party headquarters, Mondale stated, "Now more than ever the ordinary working families in our state need a voice and I will fight for them."

Along with Wellstone's family, influential Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota), had urged Mondale, now 75, to run. "I think there would be overwhelming support in Minnesota for his candidacy," said Daschle on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, appearing on "Fox News Sunday," also spoke highly of Mondale's potential return to politics. "It would be greatest tribute to Paul Wellstone's memory if somebody of the stature and purpose and statesmanship and honor of Walter Mondale would pick up the torch," he said.

The 58-year-old Wellstone was campaigning for his third term in the Senate when he died along with wife Sheila, his daughter Marsha in the crash of a small plane near the town of Eveleth in northern Minnesota on Oct. 25. Wellstone is survived by two sons, Paul Jr., 37, and Mark, 30, who were not on board the plane. The NTSB is investigating the cause of the crash.

Democrats, holding the slimmest possible majority in the Senate -- 50 to 49 -- before Wellstone's death, will now focus on close races in Minnesota and about 5 other key states in hopes of holding onto their advantage.

Mondale's National Political Experience
After serving in the United States Senate from 1964-1976, Mondale was Vice President to Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981 and ran unsuccessfully for president against Republican Ronald Reagan in 1984. His selection of Rep. Geraldine Ferraro of New York as his vice presidential running mate made Mondale the first major-party presidential nominee to put a woman on the ticket. During the Clinton administration, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan. 

Mondale boasts a strong Senatorial resume, having served on the Finance Committee, the Labor and Public Welfare Committee, Budget Committee, and the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. He also served as the chairman of the Select Committee on Equal Education Opportunity and as the chairman of the Intelligence Committee's Domestic Task Force.

The race between Wellstone and Republican candidate Norm Coleman had been considered neck-and-neck at time of Wellstone's death.