Minnesota Democrats scramble for a replacement in key Senate race

Minnesota Democrats scramble for a replacement in key Senate race ASHLEY H. GRANT Associated Press Writer ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ Gov. Jesse Ventura hopes to make a decision

Friday, October 25th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Minnesota Democrats scramble for a replacement in key Senate race

ASHLEY H. GRANT

Associated Press Writer

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ Gov. Jesse Ventura hopes to make a decision by Monday on whether to name a temporary successor to Sen. Paul Wellstone, his spokesman said Saturday, as Democrats struggled to find a candidate with big name recognition to replace him on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Wellstone, one of the Senate's most liberal Democrats that past 12 years, was killed Friday when a plane carrying him, his wife, daughter and five others crashed in northeastern Minnesota.

Ventura's spokesman, John Wodele, said it was his impression that the governor, who is an independent, would name a Democrat to Wellstone's seat if it makes an appointment at all.

Attorney General Mike Hatch, a Democrat, said his reading of the law suggests Ventura's appointee would only serve until election results are certified by the state canvassing board _ typically within weeks of Election Day _ not through the end of Wellstone's term.

Political operatives from both parties agreed at first glance that Democrats had the right to replace Wellstone with a new nominee but also could decide to leave his name on the ballot.

Democrats said names being suggested as possible replacements included former Vice President Walter Mondale; his son, Ted, an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate; Skip Humphrey, former state attorney general and son of former Vice President Hubert Humphrey; state Supreme Court Justice Alan Page, a former pro football star, and state Attorney General Mike Hatch.

``You need somebody who's known statewide,'' said Craig Grau, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. ``In the past, people have had widows. That is not the case in this situation.''

None of the top contenders to take on Republican Norm Coleman returned phone calls seeking comment, but their names and a handful of others were in circulation within hours of the plane crash Friday.

As one of the Senate's most outspoken liberals, Wellstone one of Republicans' hottest targets this year _ and the race broke Minnesota records for the money that washed in. The two candidates raised a collective $19 million, with at least that much spent by others on their behalf.

As of last week, a poll showed Wellstone with a slight lead, 47 percent to 41 percent.

The Democrats' best possibility might be the former vice president who is now an attorney in Minneapolis. Mondale, who will turn 75 in January, didn't return a phone call seeking comment and didn't take questions Friday as he and other Democrats, including Sen. Ted Kennedy, expressed sorrow at Wellstone's death.

``He's definitely a very fit, coherent, smart 74-year-old man who is extremely active in lots of different ways,'' said Lilly Goren, head of the political science department at College of St. Catherine in St. Paul.

She noted that Mondale is younger than Frank Lautenberg, the former senator lured out of retirement to replace scandal-tainted Democratic Sen. Robert Torricelli on the New Jersey ballot.

``Wellstone was cut from the political tradition of Minnesota and (Hubert) Humphrey and Mondale, and carrying on the fight is something Mondale continues to do,'' Goren said.

Skip Humphrey, son of the former vice president and a former state attorney general, lost some of his luster when he came in third in the 1998 gubernatorial race behind Gov. Jesse Ventura and Coleman, but he's still on the list of possibilities.

Page has been courted for Senate before, but has said he was happy being a state Supreme Court justice.

Other potential candidates include Mondale's son, Ted, an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in 1998, and Rebecca Yanisch and Mike Ciresi, both of whom unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Senate nomination two years ago. Yanisch indicated she might be interested.

``Obviously, I would still love to be able to serve our state,'' said Yanisch, who is Ventura's trade commissioner, quickly adding, ``I don't even want to talk about the next step.''

Judi Dutcher, the state auditor and a gubernatorial candidate earlier this year, said she wasn't interested. But she said she hoped the party picked someone ``who's really going to carry on his progressive traditions _ carry on the fight he has fought so well for the last 12 years.''

State law allows the party to pick someone to run in Wellstone's spot and it allows the governor to appoint a temporary replacement.

Ventura, an Independent who is not seeking a second term, didn't say whether he would appoint someone to serve the rest of Wellstone's term, but did say he would not appoint himself.

``My days of public service will end at my term,'' the governor said. ``It will not be me if I decide to go that route.''

As for the election, Wellstone's spot on the ballot already is considered a vacancy. If or when the party names a replacement, county election officials would blot out all the Senate candidates' names on the original ballot and print up a supplemental ballot just for that race.

Two years ago, when Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan was killed in a plane crash three weeks before the election while running for the Senate, his name remained on the ballot and he beat Republican Sen. John Ashcroft. Carnahan's widow, Jean, was appointed to serve in his place. She is now running in a special election to complete the six-year term originally won by Mel Carnahan.