Nov 5, 2002 12:45 pm US/Central

(AP) (St. Paul) Dean Barkley officially became Minnesota's newest U.S. senator Tuesday when he was sworn in to temporarily replace the late Paul Wellstone.

Gov. Jesse Ventura looked on as U.S. District Judge John Tunheim administered the oath in a private ceremony to Barkley, who said he was told about his new job an hour before Ventura made the surprise announcement Monday.

Barkley has the power to shift the balance of power in the Senate, at least temporarily. The Senate is now split 49-49 with two independents.

Barkley has not said whether he'll caucus with the Democrats, Republicans or form a two-member caucus with Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont, an independent who usually sides with Democrats. But he said Monday that he plans to use his power to get the best deal he can for the state. He took calls Monday from both Jeffords and Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss.

It's unclear how long Barkley will serve. Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch reads state law to say the winner of the Senate election will replace Barkley once the winner is certified in mid-November. But Senate rules suggest Barkley's term will run into early January, when the new Congress convenes. The differing views have yet to be reconciled.

Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Walter Mondale are both running for the seat.

Barkley, 52, the man credited with launching the state's third-party movement, was a founder of Ventura's Independence Party and is one of the governor's closest advisers. He served in the Ventura administration as director of Minnesota Planning, the state's long-range planning agency.

His first run for office was an unsuccessful 1992 bid for Congress. In 1994 and 1996, he ran for Senate and won enough votes to catapult the Reform Party to major party status in Minnesota. He persuaded Ventura to run for governor in 1998 and chaired his campaign. The Independence Party eventually broke away from the Reform Party.

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2002