By Brian Bakst Associated Press Writer Published: Oct 27, 2002

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The family of late Sen. Paul Wellstone has asked former Vice President Walter Mondale to replace Wellstone on the Nov. 5 ballot, and Mondale is likely to accept, according to a source who has spoken to Mondale.

The source confirmed details of a meeting Saturday at Mondale's law office at which Wellstone's son David asked Mondale to make the run.

"Based on the family's request to him, it is highly likely he will run," the source told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. "It would be surprising if the vice president did not run."

The source said Mondale would not announce a decision until after Tuesday's memorial service for Wellstone, who was killed Friday in a plane crash in northern Minnesota.

Mondale, 74, has not said publicly that he is willing to become a candidate but has not ruled it out and, according to one source, has indicated some interest. He didn't return calls Saturday or answer his door.

Democratic Party Chairman Mike Erlandson said Sunday that no one had yet been chosen to fill Wellstone's spot on the ballot. The party was expected to hold a news conference later Sunday and give a required three-day notice for a meeting of the state's central committee members, who would approve a replacement candidate.

Several Democratic officials have said a decision on Wellstone's replacement would wait until the family made funeral arrangements and Wellstone's sons had a chance to voice their opinions.

Republican officials, however, are already fashioning a message with the presumption that Mondale will enter the race against former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman.

"The voters will have a decision between the past and the future," said Bill Walsh, a state GOP spokesman. "Walter Mondale is clearly the past."

National Democratic leaders have also made it clear that Mondale is the favored choice.

A Democratic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Saturday that Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Sen. Patty Murray, the head of the party's campaign committee, had reached out to the former vice president. Additionally, Democratic sources said, prominent labor leaders have expressed an interest in Mondale.

Daschle, D-S.D., was in the Twin Cities on Saturday for what his spokesman, Jay Carson, said was a previously scheduled family engagement. Daschle had intended to campaign for Wellstone on the trip, and Carson said he might stop by Wellstone's headquarters Sunday.

Meanwhile, near Eveleth, Minn., victims' relatives were expected to visit the site of the plane crash for a private memorial service Sunday. Wellstone, his wife, Sheila, daughter, Marcia, three campaign workers and two pilots died in the crash. The cause of the crash, which happened in freezing rain, remains under investigation.

Wellstone, a 58-year-old liberal, died in the final days of a tough race for a third term.

The race 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,

The list of potential replacements for Wellstone on the ballot has included several politicians one generation younger than Mondale, including Mondale's son, Ted, and Skip Humphrey, the son of another former vice president. Also mentioned was Alan Page, a state Supreme Court justice and a former Minnesota Vikings star. He showed no interest in a U.S. Senate campaign when he was approached two years ago.

While Democrats considered whose name would go on the ballot, Gov. Jesse Ventura met with legal advisers to discuss appointing a temporary replacement for the remaining months of Wellstone's term.

Ventura said if he names someone, it probably will be a Democrat because it's "only fair."

He also said he would favor someone who doesn't plan to run for the office.

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.

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 and is now seeking election.

Under Minnesota law, a death creates a vacancy on a ballot. The candidate's party can nominate someone to fill that spot, but that candidate would have to fulfill certain requirements, including being alive, Attorney General Mike Hatch said.

-- Anonymous, October 27, 2002