Paul David Wellstone (July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002) was an American academic, author, and politician who represented
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
from 1991 until he was killed in a plane crash near
Eveleth, Minnesota
Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,718 at the 2010 census.
U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 (MN 37) are two of the main routes in Eveleth.
Eveleth was the site of the conflict that resu ...
, in 2002. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(
DFL), Wellstone was a leader of the
populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
and
progressive wings of the party.
Born in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, Wellstone grew up in
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
. He went on to graduate from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
with a Bachelor's of Arts and a doctorate in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
. In 1969, Wellstone was hired as a professor at
Carleton College
Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...
in
Northfield Northfield may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland
* Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland
* Northfield, Birmingham, England
* Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England
United States
* Northfield, Connec ...
, Minnesota, where he taught until his election to the Senate in 1990. In addition, he also worked as a local activist and
community organizer
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest.
Unlike those who promote more-consensual community bui ...
in rural
Rice County. In 1982, he made his first bid for political office in that year's
Minnesota State Auditor
The state auditor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Nineteen individuals have held the office of state auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Julie Blaha, a DFLer.
Election and te ...
race. His campaign was unsuccessful, losing to Republican incumbent
Arne Carlson
Arne Helge Carlson (born September 24, 1934) is an American politician who served as the 37th Governor of Minnesota. A Republican, Carlson's viewpoints are considered to be moderate. He first won election to the governors office in 1990. Carlso ...
.
Wellstone challenged two-term
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
incumbent
Rudy Boschwitz
Rudolph Ely Boschwitz (born November 7, 1930) is an American politician and businessman who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 1978 until 1991. Boschwitz is a member of the Republican Party.
He was born in Berlin to a Jewish ...
in the
1990 United States Senate election. Wellstone was widely seen as an underdog and was significantly outspent by Boschwitz. Using his progressive populism and
grassroots campaigning tactics, such as his iconic green school bus, Wellstone won in an upset victory that gained him national attention. He was the only challenger in the country that year to defeat an incumbent senator. In his
1996 reelection campaign, he defeated Boschwitz in a rematch. He won the elections with 50.4% and 50.3% of the vote, respectively.
While in the U.S. Senate, Wellstone was a supporter of environmental protection, labor groups, and health care reform. He notably authored the "Wellstone Amendment" for the
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (, ), commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or BCRA (pronounced "bik-ruh"), is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of ...
of 2002. However, his efforts toward
campaign finance reform were overturned in 2010 by the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
in ''
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission''. Wellstone was a candidate for reelection to the Senate in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
and was facing former
Saint Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
mayor
Norm Coleman
Norman Bertram Coleman Jr. (born August 17, 1949) is an American politician, attorney, and lobbyist. From 2003 to 2009, he served as a United States Senator for Minnesota. From 1994 to 2002, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota. First elected ...
in a competitive race when, a few weeks before the election, Wellstone died in a plane crash near
Eveleth
Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,718 at the 2010 census.
U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 (MN 37) are two of the main routes in Eveleth.
Eveleth was the site of the conflict that resu ...
, Minnesota. His wife,
Sheila
Sheila (alternatively spelled Shelagh and Sheelagh) is a common feminine given name, derived from the Irish name ''Síle'', which is believed to be a Gaelic form of the Latin name Caelia, the feminine form of the Roman clan name Caelius, mean ...
, and daughter, Marcia, also died on board. After his sudden death, Wellstone was replaced on the ballot by former
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...
, who lost by a slim margin to Coleman. Wellstone's sons, David and Mark, were not on the flight, and until 2018 co-chaired the
Wellstone Action nonprofit organization (now named Re:Power) in honor of their parents.
Background and education
Wellstone was born in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, the second son of
Ukrainian Jewish immigrants Leon and Minnie Wellstone. His father changed the family name from Wexelstein after encountering
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
during the 1930s. Raised in
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
, Wellstone attended
Wakefield public schools and
Yorktown High School, graduating in 1962.
Wellstone attended the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
(UNC) on a
wrestling scholarship. In college he was an undefeated
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
wrestling champion. After his freshman year, he married
Sheila Ison Wellstone. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
in 1965, and was elected
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
.
In May 1969, Wellstone earned a
PhD in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
from UNC. His doctoral dissertation on the roots of black militancy was titled ''Black Militants in the Ghetto: Why They Believe in Violence''.
Early career and activism
In August 1969, Wellstone accepted a
tenure-track
Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...
position at
Carleton College
Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...
in
Northfield Northfield may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland
* Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland
* Northfield, Birmingham, England
* Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England
United States
* Northfield, Connec ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, where he taught political science until his election to the Senate in 1990.
During the 1970s and 1980s, he also began
community organizing
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest.
Unlike those who promote more-consensual community bui ...
, working with the working poor and other politically disenfranchised communities. He founded the Organization for a Better Rice County, a group consisting mainly of single parents on
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
. The organization advocated for
public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
, affordable
health care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
, improved
public education
State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...
, free
school lunches, and a publicly funded
day care center
Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...
. In 1978, he published his first book, ''How the Rural Poor Got Power: Narrative of a Grassroots Organizer'', chronicling his work with the organization.
Wellstone was arrested twice during this period for
civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...
.
The
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
began a case file on him after his May 1970 arrest for protesting the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
at the Federal Office Building in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
. In 1984 Wellstone was arrested again, for
trespassing
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land.
Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, ...
during a
foreclosure
Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan.
Formally, a mortg ...
protest at a bank.
Wellstone extended his activism to the Minnesota labor movement. In the summer of 1985, he walked the
picket line
A picket line is a horizontal rope along which horses are tied at intervals. The rope can be on the ground, at chest height (above the knees, below the neck) or overhead. The overhead form is usually called a high line.
A variant of a high l ...
with striking
P-9ers during
a labor dispute at the
Hormel Meat Packing plant in
Austin, Minnesota
Austin is a city in, and the county seat of, Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,174 at the 2020 census. The town was originally settled along the Cedar River and has two artificial lakes, East Side Lake and Mill Po ...
. The
Minnesota National Guard
The Minnesota National Guard is a state-based military force of more than 13,000 soldiers and airmen, serving in 61 communities across the state. Operated in the U.S. state of Minnesota, it is reserve component of the National Guard.
The Cons ...
was called in during the strike to ensure that Hormel could hire permanent replacement workers.
The trustees of Carleton College briefly fired Wellstone in the late 1970s for his activism and lack of academic publications. After his students held a
sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
, the trustees rehired him and gave him tenure. Wellstone remains the youngest tenured faculty member in Carleton's history.
Early political career
Wellstone first sought public office in 1982. He received the Democratic nomination for
Minnesota State Auditor
The state auditor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Nineteen individuals have held the office of state auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Julie Blaha, a DFLer.
Election and te ...
after an impassioned speech at the state convention.
In the general election he received 45% of the vote, losing to
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
incumbent, and future Minnesota governor,
Arne Carlson
Arne Helge Carlson (born September 24, 1934) is an American politician who served as the 37th Governor of Minnesota. A Republican, Carlson's viewpoints are considered to be moderate. He first won election to the governors office in 1990. Carlso ...
.
Wellstone remained active in
Democratic politics in the mid-1980s. He served as an elected committeeman for the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
in 1984, and in 1986 began a second campaign for State Auditor before dropping out to tend his mother's failing health.
In 1988, Wellstone chaired
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...
's
campaign for the presidency in Minnesota. After the primary, he co-chaired
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...
's
campaign
Campaign or The Campaign may refer to:
Types of campaigns
* Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed
*Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme
* Bl ...
in the state.
U.S. Senate campaigns (1990–2002)
![Paul Wellstone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Paul_Wellstone.jpg)
In
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
, Wellstone ran for the U.S. Senate against incumbent
Rudy Boschwitz
Rudolph Ely Boschwitz (born November 7, 1930) is an American politician and businessman who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 1978 until 1991. Boschwitz is a member of the Republican Party.
He was born in Berlin to a Jewish ...
, beginning the race as a serious underdog. He narrowly won the election despite being outspent 7 to 1. Wellstone played off his underdog image with quirky, humorous ads created by political consultant
Bill Hillsman
William Gerard Hillsman, Jr. (born August 14, 1953 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American political consultant and advertising executive. He works and lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A graduate of Carleton College, Hillsman worked for various a ...
, including "Fast Paul" and "Looking for Rudy", a
pastiche
A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...
of the 1989
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism.
Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...
documentary ''
Roger & Me
''Roger & Me'' is a 1989 American documentary film written, produced, directed by, and starring Michael Moore, in his directorial debut. Moore portrays the regional economic impact of General Motors CEO Roger Smith's action of closing several ...
''. Boschwitz was also hurt by a letter his supporters wrote, on campaign stationery, to members of the Minnesota Jewish community days before the election, accusing Wellstone of being a "bad Jew" for marrying a
Gentile
Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...
and not raising his children in the Jewish faith. (Boschwitz, like Wellstone, is Jewish.) Wellstone's reply, widely broadcast on Minnesota television, was "He has a problem with Christians, then." Boschwitz was the only incumbent U.S. senator not to be reelected that year.
Wellstone defeated Boschwitz again in
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
. During that campaign, Boschwitz ran ads accusing Wellstone of being "embarrassingly liberal" and calling him "Senator Welfare". He accused Wellstone of supporting
flag burning
Flag desecration is the desecration of a flag, violation of flag protocol, or various acts that intentionally destroy, damage, or mutilate a flag in public. In the case of a national flag, such action is often intended to make a political poin ...
, a move some believe backfired. Before that accusation, the race was close, but Wellstone beat Boschwitz by nine points despite again being significantly outspent. Reform Party candidate
Dean Barkley
Dean Malcolm Barkley (born August 31, 1950) is an American attorney and politician who briefly served as a United States Senator from Minnesota from 2002 to 2003 as a member of the Independence Party of Minnesota. The founder and chair of the ...
received 7% of the vote.
Wellstone's upset victory in 1990 and reelection in 1996 were also credited to a
grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
campaign that inspired college students, poor people, and minorities to get involved in politics, many for the first time. In 1990, the number of young people involved in the campaign was so notable that shortly after the election,
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...
told Wellstone that "the kids won it for you". Wellstone also spent much of his Senate career working with the
Hmong
Hmong may refer to:
* Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand
* Hmong cuisine
* Hmong customs and culture
** Hmong music
** Hmong textile art
* Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...
community in Minnesota, which had not previously been much involved in American politics, and with the
veterans
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military veteran that has ...
community—serving on the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, successfully campaigning for
atomic veteran
An atomic veteran is a veteran who was exposed to ionizing radiation while present in the site of a nuclear explosion during their active duty. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs defines an atomic veteran "who, as part of his or her military ...
s to receive compensation from the federal government, and for increased spending on health care for veterans.
In 2002, Wellstone campaigned for reelection to a third term despite an earlier campaign pledge to serve only two. His
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
opponent was
Norm Coleman
Norman Bertram Coleman Jr. (born August 17, 1949) is an American politician, attorney, and lobbyist. From 2003 to 2009, he served as a United States Senator for Minnesota. From 1994 to 2002, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota. First elected ...
, a two-term mayor of
St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
and former Democrat, who had supported Wellstone's 1996 campaign. Earlier that year Wellstone announced he had a mild form of
multiple sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
, causing the limp he had believed was an old wrestling injury.
Wellstone was in a line of center-left senators from the
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). The first three,
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...
,
Eugene McCarthy
Eugene Joseph McCarthy (March 29, 1916December 10, 2005) was an American politician, writer, and academic from Minnesota. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971. ...
, and
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...
, were all prominent in the national Democratic Party. Shortly after joining the Senate, South Carolina Senator
Fritz Hollings
Ernest Frederick "Fritz" Hollings (January 1, 1922April 6, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from South Carolina from 1966 to 2005. A conservative Democrat, he was also the 106th governor of South Carolina, ...
told Wellstone, "You remind me of Hubert Humphrey. You talk too much."
Political positions
Wellstone was known for his work for peace, the environment, labor, and health care; he also joined his wife Sheila to support the rights of victims of
domestic violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
. He made the issue of mental illness a central focus in his career. He was a supporter of immigration to the U.S. He opposed the first
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
in 1991 and, in the months before his death, spoke out against the government's threats to go to war with Iraq again. He was strongly supported by groups such as
Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting prog ...
, the
AFL–CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
, the
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
, the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
, and
People for the American Way.
In 1996, he voted for the
Defense of Marriage Act
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marr ...
. He later asked his supporters to educate him on the issue and by 2001, when he wrote his autobiography, ''Conscience of a Liberal'', Wellstone admitted that he had made a mistake.
Wellstone was one of only eight members of the Senate to vote against repealing the
Glass-Steagall Act in 1999.
[Congressional roll-call]
S.900 as reported by conferees: Financial Services Act of 1999, Record Vote No: 354
November 4, 1999, Clerk of the Senate. Sortable unofficial table
On Agreeing to the Conference Report, S.900 Gramm-Bliley-Leach Act, roll call 354, 106th Congress, 1st session
Votes Database at ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', retrieved on October 9, 2008
After voting against the
congressional authorization for the
war in Iraq
This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states.
Other armed conflicts involving Iraq
* Wars during Mandatory Iraq
** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921
* Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...
on October 11, 2002, amidst a tight election, Wellstone is said to have told his wife, "I just cost myself the election."
In the 2002 campaign, the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
ran a candidate against Wellstone, a move some Greens opposed. The party's 2000 vice-presidential nominee,
Winona LaDuke
Winona LaDuke (born August 18, 1959) is an American economist, environmentalist, writer and industrial hemp grower, known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as sustainable development.
In 1996 and 2000, she ran for Vice ...
, called Wellstone "a champion of the vast majority of our issues". The Green Party's decision to oppose Wellstone was criticized by some liberals.
Wellstone was the author of the "Wellstone Amendment" to the
McCain-Feingold Bill for
campaign finance reform, in what came to be known as the
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (, ), commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or BCRA (pronounced "bik-ruh"), is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of ...
. The law, including the Wellstone Amendment, was called unconstitutional by groups and individuals of various political perspectives, including the
California Democratic Party
The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento.
With 43.5% of the state's registered voters as of 2018, the Democratic Party has the highest number of r ...
, the
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
, and Republican Senator
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...
, the Senate Majority
Whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
. On December 10, 2003, the Supreme Court upheld McCain-Feingold's key provisions, including the Wellstone Amendment. Wellstone called McCain-Feingold's protection of "advocacy" groups a "loophole" allowing "special interests" to run last-minute election ads. He pushed an amendment to extend McCain-Feingold's ban on last-minute ads to nonprofits like "the NRA, the
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
, the
Christian Coalition, and others." Under the Wellstone Amendment, these organizations could advertise using only money raised under strict "hard money" limits—no more than $5,000 per individual.
In January 2010, in ''
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission'', the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the McCain-Feingold Act and removed restrictions on the NRA and others' ability to campaign at election time.
Presidential aspirations
Shortly after his reelection to the Senate in 1996, Wellstone began contemplating a run for his party's nomination for
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
. In May 1997, he embarked on a cross-country speaking and listening tour dubbed "The Children's Tour." It took him through rural areas of
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
and
Appalachia
Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
and the
inner cities
The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists somet ...
of
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. He intended to retrace the steps
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
took during a similar tour in 1966, and to highlight the fact that conditions had improved slightly for African-Americans since the
civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
, but not much for poor whites despite their dependency on food stamps, government jobs (military) and the massive federal investment in their regions, especially Appalachia.
![wellstonebus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Wellstonebus.jpg)
In 1998, Wellstone formed an
exploratory committee
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...
and a leadership
PAC, the Progressive Politics Network, that paid for his travels to
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
and
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, two early primary states in the nomination process. He spoke before
organized labor
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...
and local Democrats, using the slogan "I represent the democratic wing of the Democratic Party." Vermont governor
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 200 ...
later incorporated that phrase into his stump speech in the
2004 US presidential election.
On January 9, 1999, Wellstone called a press conference at the
Minnesota State Capitol
The Minnesota State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Minnesota, in its capital city of Saint Paul. It houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the office of the Attorney General and the office o ...
at which he said he lacked the stamina necessary for a national campaign, citing chronic back problems he ascribed to an old wrestling injury. His pain was later diagnosed as
multiple sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
. He thereafter endorsed former Senator
Bill Bradley
William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination f ...
of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, the only Democratic candidate to challenge Vice President
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
.
Gulf War
Wellstone voted against authorizing the use of force before the
Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
on January 12, 1991 (the vote was 52–47 in favor). He also voted against the use of force before the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
on October 11, 2002 (the vote was 77–23 in favor). Wellstone was one of 11 senators to vote against both the 1991 and 2002 resolutions. The others were also all Democrats:
Daniel Akaka
Daniel Kahikina Akaka (; September 11, 1924 – April 6, 2018) was an American educator and politician who served as a United States Senator from Hawaii from 1990 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Akaka was the first U.S. Senator of Nati ...
of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
;
Jeff Bingaman
Jesse Francis "Jeff" Bingaman Jr. (born October 3, 1943) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1983 to 2013, for 5 terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Chairman of Committee Outreac ...
of
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
;
Robert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd (born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr.; November 20, 1917 – June 28, 2010) was an American politician and musician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A ...
of
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
;
Kent Conrad
Gaylord Kent Conrad (born March 12, 1948) is a former American politician who was a United States Senator from North Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, the North Dakota affiliate of the Democratic Party. First elec ...
of
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
;
Daniel Inouye of Hawaii;
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
of
;
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
of
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
;
Carl Levin
Carl Milton Levin (June 28, 1934 – July 29, 2021) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1979 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the chair of the Senate Armed Services C ...
of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
;
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski ( ; born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she also served in the United States House of Repr ...
of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
; and
Paul Sarbanes
Paul Spyros Sarbanes (; February 3, 1933 – December 6, 2020) was an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party from Maryland, he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 a ...
of Maryland.
Other key military action votes
Wellstone supported requests for military action by President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, including
Operation Restore Hope
The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia from 5 December 1992 until 4 May 1993. A United States initiative (code-named Operation Restore Hope), U ...
in
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
(1992),
Operation Uphold Democracy
Operation Uphold Democracy was a military intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was effectively authorized by ...
in
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
(1994),
Operation Deliberate Force
Operation Deliberate Force was a sustained air campaign conducted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in concert with the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) ground operations, to undermine the military capability of the ...
in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
(1995),
Operation Desert Fox
The 1998 bombing of Iraq (code-named Operation Desert Fox) was a major four-day bombing campaign on Iraqi targets from 16 to 19 December 1998, by the United States and the United Kingdom. On 16 December 1998, President of the United States Bill ...
in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
(1998), and
Operation Allied Force
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...
in
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
(1999). On July 1, 1994, during the 100-day
Rwandan genocide
The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...
from April 6 to mid-July 1994, Wellstone authored an amendment to the 1995 defense appropriations bill.
Death
On October 25, 2002, Wellstone, along with seven others, died in an airplane crash in northeastern Minnesota, at 10:22 a.m. He was 58 years old. The other victims were his wife, Sheila; one of his three children, Marcia; the two pilots Richard Conry and Michael Guess;
and campaign staffers Mary McEvoy, Tom Lapic and Will McLaughlin.
The airplane was en route to
Eveleth
Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,718 at the 2010 census.
U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 (MN 37) are two of the main routes in Eveleth.
Eveleth was the site of the conflict that resu ...
, where Wellstone was to attend the funeral of Martin Rukavina, a steelworker whose son
Tom Rukavina served in the
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...
. Wellstone decided to go to the funeral instead of a Minneapolis rally and fundraiser attended by Mondale and fellow Senator
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
. He was to debate Norm Coleman in
Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
, that night.
![Paul Wellstone Grave Minneapolis Minnesota (17405711761)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Paul_Wellstone_Grave_Minneapolis_Minnesota_%2817405711761%29.jpg)
The
Beechcraft King Air A100 airplane crashed into dense forest about two miles from the
Eveleth
Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,718 at the 2010 census.
U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 (MN 37) are two of the main routes in Eveleth.
Eveleth was the site of the conflict that resu ...
airport, while operating under
instrument flight rules
In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR).
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) ''Instrument Fly ...
. It had no
flight data recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has ...
s.
Autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
toxicology
Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...
results on both pilots were negative for drug or alcohol use.
Icing, though widely reported on in following days, was considered and eventually rejected as a significant factor in the crash. The
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
(NTSB) judged that while cloud cover might have prevented the flight crew from seeing the airport, icing did not affect the plane's performance during its descent.
The
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
, which initially sent agents to help recover debris, investigated possible foul play in the crash. After a few days, it determined that the crash was accidental, but only after following several criminal leads involving death threats. Wellstone had been receiving death threats since he took office; the FBI tapped his phone to locate the callers. Documents about the FBI's involvement in investigating Wellstone's death were not publicly released until October 2010. Government documents also indicated that the FBI had been following Wellstone before he became a senator, and included records dating as far back as his arrest at a 1970 antiwar protest.
The
NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
later determined that the likely cause of the accident was "the flight crew's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which led to an aerodynamic
stall from which they did not recover."
The final two
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
readings detected the airplane traveling at or just below its predicted stall speed given conditions at the time of the accident.
Aviation experts speculated the pilots might have lost situational awareness because they were lost and looking for the airport.
They had been off course for several minutes and
"clicked on" the runway lights,
something not usually done in good visibility. There was a problem with the airport's
VHF omnidirectional range
Very high frequency omnirange station (VOR) is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a receiving unit to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network ...
(VOR) navigational beacon. According to Minnesota Public Radio:
Other pilots at the charter company told NTSB that pilot Richard Conry and
first officer (co-pilot) Michael Guess had both displayed below-average flying skills. Conry had a well-known tendency to allow copilots to take over all aircraft functions as if they were the sole pilot. After the crash, three copilots told of occasions on which they had to take control of the aircraft away from Conry.
After one of those incidents, three days before the crash, the copilot (not Guess) had urged Conry to retire. In a post-accident interview, Conry's longtime friend and fellow aviator Timothy Cooney said that he had last spoken to Conry in June 2001 and had expressed concerns about difficulties he had flying King Airs as late as April of that year, 18 months before the accident. Significant discrepancies were also found in the captain's flight logs in the course of the post-accident investigation, indicating he had probably greatly exaggerated his flying experience, most of which had been accrued before a 9–10 year hiatus from flying due to a fraud conviction and poor eyesight.
He underwent
Lasik
LASIK or Lasik (''laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis''), commonly referred to as laser eye surgery or laser vision correction, is a type of refractive surgery for the correction of myopia, hyperopia, and an actual cure for astigmatism, sinc ...
surgery, but it had improved his vision to only 20/50 or 20/30. FAA regulations required Conry to wear corrective lenses, but his wife and Cooney said Conry did not wear lenses after the surgery. The coroner who examined his body was unable to determine whether Conry was wearing contact lenses at the time of the crash.
Coworkers described Guess as having had to be consistently reminded to keep his hand on the throttle and maintain airspeed during approaches.
He had two previous piloting jobs, one with Skydive Hutchinson as a pilot (1988–1989), and another with
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
as a trainee instructor (1999), and was dismissed from both for lack of ability. Conry's widow told the NTSB that her husband told her "the other pilots thought Guess was not a good pilot."
Aftermath
Don Hazen, executive editor of
Alternet
AlterNet is a left-leaning online news outlet. It was launched in 1997 by the Independent Media Institute. In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of ''Raw Story''.
Coverage
Coverage is divided into several special sections related to progre ...
, wrote of the death, "Progressives across the land are in shock as the person many think of as the conscience of the Senate is gone." Wellstone died just 11 days before his
potential reelection in a crucial race to maintain Democratic control of the Senate. Campaigning was halted by all sides. Minnesota law required that his name be stricken from the ballot, to be replaced by a candidate chosen by the party. The DFL selected former
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...
.
The memorial service for Wellstone and the other victims of the crash was held in
Williams Arena
Williams Arena is an indoor arena located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the home arena for the University of Minnesota's men's and women's basketball teams. It also housed the men's hockey team until 1993, when it moved into its own building ...
at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
and broadcast live on national TV. The lengthy service was dotted with political speeches, open advocacy on political issues, and a giant beach ball batted around the crowd in the style of a beach party. Many high-profile politicians attended the memorial, including former President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, former Vice President
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
, and more than half the U.S. Senate. The White House offered to send Vice President
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
to the service, but the Wellstone family declined.
Some criticized the service for having an inappropriate tone
and resembling a "pep rally" or "partisan foot-stomp".
Wellstone campaign manager Jeff Blodgett noted after the event that it had not been scripted and apologized to people who were offended or surprised.
In his book ''
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them
''Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them'' is a satirical book on American politics by Al Franken, a comedian, political commentator, and politician. It was published in 2003 by Dutton Penguin. Franken had a study group of 14 Harvard graduate stud ...
'',
Al Franken
Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...
wrote that "reasonable people of good will were genuinely offended" but argued that conservative media figures exploited outrage at the event for political gain. At the time of writing Franken was a comedian and liberal commentator. In 2008, Franken was elected to
the Senate seat once held by Wellstone.
Minnesota Governor
Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...
, who had stated his preference to appoint a Democrat to serve out the remainder of Wellstone's term through January 2003, was "disgusted"
by the event, walking out and later threatening to appoint "an ordinary citizen" instead.
On November 4, the day before the election, Ventura appointed state planning commissioner
Dean Barkley
Dean Malcolm Barkley (born August 31, 1950) is an American attorney and politician who briefly served as a United States Senator from Minnesota from 2002 to 2003 as a member of the Independence Party of Minnesota. The founder and chair of the ...
, founder and chair of Ventura's
Independence Party of Minnesota
The Independence Party of Minnesota (often abbreviated IPM, MNIP or IP), formerly the Reform Party of Minnesota, is a political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was the party of former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura (1999–2003).
...
, to serve the remaining two months of Wellstone's term; he had run against Wellstone in 1996.
[Sternberg, Bob von (October 27, 200]
Dean Barkley: As a "viable alternative," he's a force that matters
''StarTribune''. "In the waning days of the administration, Ventura appointed Barkley to serve out the final weeks of Wellstone's Senate term after Wellstone died in a plane crash." Coleman received 49.5 percent of the vote to defeat Mondale and win Wellstone's seat. In 2008, he was narrowly defeated (by 312 votes) in his bid for reelection by Franken, in a three-way race that included Barkley.
Legacy
![Paul Wellstone Grave Minneapolis Minnesota (17405715191)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Paul_Wellstone_Grave_Minneapolis_Minnesota_%2817405715191%29.jpg)
The
AFL–CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
has created the AFL–CIO Senator Paul Wellstone Award for supporters of the rights of labor unions. Presidential candidate
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 200 ...
and California state senator
John Burton both received the first award in January 2003. In 2004, the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
dedicated the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Memorial Garden as a tribute to the couple, both graduates of the university. Also in 2004,
Mason Jennings
Mason Jennings is an American folk-pop singer-songwriter.
Biography
Born in Hawaii, Jennings moved with his family to Pittsburgh at an early age. Jennings learned to play guitar at the age of 13, when he began writing songs. Jennings later dr ...
released "The Ballad of Paul and Sheila," a song memorializing the Wellstones, on his album ''Use Your Voice''.
Near the site of the plane crash, a memorial to the Wellstones was dedicated on September 25, 2005. His distinctive green bus was present, as well as hundreds of supporters and loved ones. The six-acre site, off Bodas Road near Eveleth, is a tribute to Wellstone's life and career, and to his family members and staff who lost their lives in the crash. The memorial is about three-quarters of a mile from the crash site, which is on private land. It is divided into three parts: the Legacy Trail, the Commemorative Circle, and the Crash Site Narrative Space.
Paul and Sheila Wellstone were buried at
Lakewood Cemetery
Lakewood Cemetery is a large private, non-sectarian cemetery located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is located at 3600 Hennepin Avenue at the southern end of the Uptown area. It is noted for its chapel which is on the National R ...
in Minneapolis, the same cemetery in which Vice President
Hubert H. Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...
is interred. A memorial sculpture near
Bde Maka Ska
Bde Maka Ska (, previously named Lake Calhoun, its former official designation) is the largest lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. Surrounded by city park land and circled by bike and walking tra ...
marks their gravesites. Visitors sometimes follow the Jewish custom of placing small stones on the boulder marking the family plot or on the individual markers.
Wellstone Action, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, trains citizens and potential candidates with a progressive agenda.
In 2007, former
First Lady
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...
Rosalynn Carter
Eleanor Rosalynn Carter ( ; née Smith; born August 18, 1927) is an American writer and activist who served as First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981 as the wife of President Jimmy Carter. For decades, she has been a leading advocate ...
joined David Wellstone to push Congress to pass legislation regarding
mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
insurance.
Wellstone and Carter worked to pass the
Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which requires equal coverage of mental and physical illnesses when policies include both types of coverage; both testified about the bill before a House subcommittee in July 2007.
David said of his father, "Although he was passionate on many issues, there was not another issue that surpassed this in terms of his passion."
Because Paul Wellstone's brother had had mental illness, Wellstone had fought for changes in mental health and insurance laws when he reached the Senate.
The St. Paul branch of the Emily Program eating disorder clinic has a Wellstone Room in its adult inpatient unit. The room is dedicated to Paul and Sheila Wellstone for their work on treating eating disorders.
On March 5, 2008, the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
passed H.R. 1424, the ''Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007'', by a vote of 268–148. It was sponsored by Representatives
Patrick Kennedy and
Jim Ramstad
James Marvin Ramstad (May 6, 1946 – November 5, 2020) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009. A member of the Republican Par ...
, both of whom are recovering alcoholics. The narrower Senate bill S. 558, passed earlier, was introduced by Kennedy's father, Senator
Edward Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
,
Pete Domenici
Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici (May 7, 1932 – September 13, 2017) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served six terms in the S ...
, and
Mike Enzi
Michael Bradley Enzi ( ; February 1, 1944 – July 26, 2021) was an American politician who served in the United States Senate from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party from 1997 to 2021. Prior to his tenure in the United States Senate h ...
.
Electoral history
See also
*
List of United States Congress members who died in office
There are several lists of United States Congress members who died in office. These include:
*List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)
*List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–1949)
*List of ...
Citations
General and cited references
''Human Performance 14: Factual Report of Human Performance Specialist'' National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
(February 20, 2003)
Attachment 1: Interview Summariespart of the crash report(s)
Further reading
* Blodgett, Jeff, ''Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way'', University of Minnesota Press, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081228001400/http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/B/blodgett_winning.html
* Casper, Barry (Mike), ''Lost in Washington: Finding the Way Back to Democracy in America'',
University of Massachusetts Press
The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The press was founded in 1963, publishing scholarly books and non-fiction. The press imprint is overseen by an interdisciplinar ...
, 2000.
* Donald "Four Arrows" Trent Jacobs and Dr.
James H. Fetzer
James Henry Fetzer (born December 6, 1940) is a professor emeritus of the philosophy of science at the University of Minnesota Duluth, known for promoting conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial. Fetzer has worked on assessing and clarifying the ...
, ''American Assassination: the Strange Death of Senator Paul Wellstone'', Vox Pop, 2004.
**
**
* Hightower, Jim. ''Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can go With the Flow''. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons, Inc, 2008.
*
Bill Hillsman
William Gerard Hillsman, Jr. (born August 14, 1953 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American political consultant and advertising executive. He works and lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A graduate of Carleton College, Hillsman worked for various a ...
, ''Run The Other Way: Fixing the Two-Party System, One Campaign at a Time''
* Lofy, Bill, ''Paul Wellstone: The Life of a Passionate Progressive'', University of Michigan Press, 2005
* Lofy, Bill, ''Politics the Wellstone Way: How to Elect Progressive Candidates and Win on Issues'', University of Minnesota Press, 2005. http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/W/wellstone_politics.html
* McGrath, Dennis J. and Smith, Dane, ''Professor Wellstone Goes to Washington: The Inside Story of a Grassroots U.S. Senate Campaign'', University of Minnesota Press, 1995. http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/M/mcgrath_prof.html
* Wellstone, Paul, ''The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda'', University of Minnesota Press, 2002. http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/W/wellstone_conscience.html
* Wellstone, Paul, ''How the Rural Poor Got Power: Narrative of a Grass-Roots Organizer'', University of Minnesota Press, 2003. http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/W/wellstone_how.html
* Wellstone, Paul, and Barry Casper, ''Powerline: The First Battle of America's Energy War'', University of Minnesota Press, 2003. http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/W/wellstone_powerline.html
External links
*
*
*
Wellstone Action political training centers
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