As Minnesota and the nation mourn the loss of U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., after his death in a plane crash Friday morning, the race for majority in the U.S. Senate moved forward over the weekend.
A total of eight people, including Wellstone's wife and daughter, along with three staff members and two pilots, passed away in the crash. Officials said the plane clipped treetops and was torn to pieces while attempting to land at Eveleth-Virginia Municipal Airport.
Minnesotans will have the opportunity to pay their last respects to the Senator, who was up for re-election against Republican candidate and former St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman, at a public memorial Tuesday.
UW-Madison freshman Ann Kahn, a native of Minneapolis, said she was deeply affected by Wellstone's untimely death.
\I cried for a couple of hours. He was my political hero, my favorite politician,"" she said. ""I now understand how people felt in past generations when they lost political leaders.""
Despite a profound sense of loss, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party and the Wellstone campaign are not ready to concede defeat, according to recent UW-Madison graduate and DFL staffer John Maycroft.
""The campaign is still alive,"" he said. ""The office is still there, all the staffers are still working, but obviously we're not doing much these past couple of days because things are getting worked out.""
Minnesota is a key state in the senatorial race, as Democrats currently only possess a one-seat lead in the senate, with Vice President Dick Cheney casting the deciding vote in case of a tie vote.
""It's definitely neck-and-neck, it could go either way,"" said David Canon, a professor of political science at UW-Madison. ""There are about seven races that are in play and all seven of them are too close to call.""
Despite the similarities to the death of former Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, who died in a plane crash during his senatorial election in 2000 before being elected post-humously, Minnesota law does not allow Wellstone's name to remain on the ballot. Former U.S. Senator and Vice President Walter Mondale is expected to be selected as Wellstone's replacement, though no official announcement will be made until after Tuesday's memorial.
Maycroft said Minnesota voters will be provided with supplemental ballots for the senatorial race. Absentee voters who have already mailed in their ballots will shortly receive a new ballot that must be mailed in by next week Tuesday.
""Whoever it is who replaces Paul on the ballot, we're going to work for,"" he said. ""And if it is Mondale I think most people are willing to bust their ass for that guy.""
Canon said he still expects the Democrats to give Coleman a run in Minnesota.
""I would say the Democrats have an even-odds chance of winning,"" he said. ""I think a sympathy vote is a real possibility.\
