Paul Wellstone memorial event

On October 29, 2002, four days after the death of Minnesota U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone in a small plane crash and one week before the election in which he was running for a third term, a large public memorial event was held in remembrance of the senator and seven others killed in the crash in the Williams Arena in Minneapolis.[1]

Sen. Paul Wellstone in 1999

In the week that followed, the tone and content of the memorial became a major public focus, with claims by public figures including Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura that the event had devolved from a memorial into a partisan political rally. A significant backlash ensued against the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) generally and Mondale's candidacy specifically.[2]

A poll completed hours before the memorial reflected an eight-point lead for Wellstone's planned replacement on the ballot, former Vice-President Walter Mondale,[3] over Republican challenger and former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman.[4] A sizable shift in public opinion occurred in the week following the memorial event, with Mondale's commanding lead shrinking to a fraction of a point on Election Day before Coleman won by 2.2%.[5] A significant portion of media analysis and public comment cited the memorial as a major cause of Mondale's loss.[6][7]

Coleman's election was a decisive factor in shifting the Senate from Democratic to Republican control, giving Republicans a government trifecta —control of the White House and both houses of Congress—for the next four years. The claimed influence of the memorial on the election ranks the event among the most consequential in Minnesota's political history, "altering the state's political landscape,"[8] with added repercussions at the national and international level. "When Sen. Paul Wellstone’s plane went down in a northern Minnesota bog," said the Minnesota Star Tribune, "it turned the state into the ground zero of American politics."[9]

  1. ^ McCallum, Laura. "Wellstone colleagues join thousands for Minnesota memorial". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  2. ^ Karl, Jonathan (31 October 2002). "Tone of Wellstone memorial generates anger". CNN. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Mondale to Replace Wellstone on Minnesota Ballot". National Public Radio. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Poll: Mondale Leads Over Coleman". Edwardsville Intelligencer. Associated Press. 29 October 2002. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  5. ^ "2002 General Election Results". Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Mondale's defeat is blamed on memorial". Tampa Bay Times. 7 November 2002. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Mondale's surprise Senate run hurt by partisan Wellstone memorial". Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  8. ^ Grow, Doug (2008-10-24). "Six years later, Wellstone memorial host Latimer still agonizes over event's political fallout". MinnPost. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  9. ^ Von Sternberg, Bob (3 November 2002). "High Stakes, High Drama". Minnesota Star-Tribune. pp. Section 1-A.