Minnesota Democrats await Mondale's decision

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Former Vice President Walter Mondale has gotten a crucial vote of confidence from the family of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone as Democrats scramble to replace the fallen senator on the Nov. 5 ballot.

"Mr. Mondale is the choice of the Wellstone family," said Mike Erlandson, chairman of the state's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Erlandson said Wellstone's son personally asked Mondale on Saturday to take over the race.

A group of up to 875 Minnesota Democrats -- delegates and alternates to the party's central committee -- will meet Wednesday to officially choose the substitute candidate for Wellstone, who died Friday in a plane crash along with his wife, daughter and three campaign workers. Two pilots also died.

The crash threw the battle for control of the Senate into question with the Nov. 5 election nearly a week away. The race had been tight between former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman and Wellstone and was a top target of Republicans trying to regain control of the chamber.

Erlandson said the family's choice would weigh heavily in the party's decision. He said he believes Mondale, a household name in Minnesota, will run if nominated.

Mondale, 74, hasn't returned calls to reporters or answered the door at his Minneapolis home.

Those close to Mondale said he isn't expected to comment publicly on a potential candidacy until after Tuesday's memorial service for the crash victims.

Memorial preparations

Most members of the U.S. Senate are expected to attend the memorial, said Allison Dobson, a Wellstone spokeswoman. She did not know if President George Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney would attend. Former President Bill Clinton plans to attend the memorial, a spokesman for him said Sunday.

Preparations were being made for 20,000 people at the memorial, Dobson said.

If Democrats succeed in drafting Mondale, it will give them a powerhouse candidate for a six-day campaign against Coleman, who entered the race at the president's urging.

State Republican officials have said they would attempt to cast a Mondale-Coleman race as a choice between a reluctant placeholder and someone who is eager to do the work.

"Walter Mondale is a good man," Coleman said Sunday, declining to comment further on his potential opponent. "There will be a campaign, but now is not the time."

The battle for Wellstone's seat was one of a half-dozen or so expected to determine which party will control the Senate next year. The loss of Wellstone leaves the chamber split 49-49 among Republicans and Democrats, with one independent, Jim Jeffords of Vermont, who is allied with the Democrats.

It appeared it wouldn't be legal to leave Wellstone's name on the ballot. Absentee ballots already marked for Wellstone won't count for the Senate race, but people who submitted them could go to the polls on Nov. 5 and submit a new ballot.