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CNN Live At Daybreak

Mondale Magic?

Aired October 31, 2002 - 06:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: On to politics now. Walter Mondale is kicking off his abbreviated campaign for the U.S. Senate with a flurry of interviews and appearances. Despite being a final-week replacement for the late Senator Paul Wellstone, Mondale already leads his opponent in one poll.
CNN's Jonathan Karl is covering the Minnesota race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Walter Mondale made it official. Taking to the state of the State Theater in Minneapolis, he formally accepted the Democratic nomination for Senate.

He'll be replacing Paul Wellstone on the ballot, and in accepting the nomination, he invoked Wellstone's name.

WALTER MONDALE (D), MINN. SEN. CANDIDATE: Tonight, our campaign begins. I start it with a pledge to you. I will be your voice, and I will be Paul Wellstone's voice for decency and hope and better lives.

KARL: Mondale also accepted the enthusiastic support of Wellstone's former campaign volunteers and campaign staffers. Much of what was the Wellstone campaign will now move right over and help Walter Mondale in his campaign, a campaign which will last only five days until the election.

On the Republican side, candidate Norm Coleman is also busily working the state, knowing he only has a few days left to fight against a brand-new candidate to win the election, and he's already starting from behind here. The latest polls in Minnesota show Walter Mondale with a lead, a lead of single digits, but a lead nonetheless.

And Norm Coleman knows that he's running up against something of a legend in the state of Minnesota. Walter Mondale, after all, is a person who served as senator for Minnesota, attorney general for Minnesota, vice president. He's also somebody, of course, who ran for president.

NORM COLEMAN (R), MINN. SEN. CANDIDATE: This is an uphill battle. I'm running against -- it's like running against Mount Rushmore, you know? But on the other hand, again, the problems, the challenges, the hopes, the opportunities are all real.

KARL: Mondale will first hit the campaign trail here in the Twin Cities with a town hall meeting, a series of radio interviews and a press conference. It's the beginning of a state-wide tour, and it's also the beginning of Walter Mondale's first political campaign in nearly 20 years.

Jonathan Karl, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired October 31, 2002 - 06:03   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: On to politics now. Walter Mondale is kicking off his abbreviated campaign for the U.S. Senate with a flurry of interviews and appearances. Despite being a final-week replacement for the late Senator Paul Wellstone, Mondale already leads his opponent in one poll.
CNN's Jonathan Karl is covering the Minnesota race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Walter Mondale made it official. Taking to the state of the State Theater in Minneapolis, he formally accepted the Democratic nomination for Senate.

He'll be replacing Paul Wellstone on the ballot, and in accepting the nomination, he invoked Wellstone's name.

WALTER MONDALE (D), MINN. SEN. CANDIDATE: Tonight, our campaign begins. I start it with a pledge to you. I will be your voice, and I will be Paul Wellstone's voice for decency and hope and better lives.

KARL: Mondale also accepted the enthusiastic support of Wellstone's former campaign volunteers and campaign staffers. Much of what was the Wellstone campaign will now move right over and help Walter Mondale in his campaign, a campaign which will last only five days until the election.

On the Republican side, candidate Norm Coleman is also busily working the state, knowing he only has a few days left to fight against a brand-new candidate to win the election, and he's already starting from behind here. The latest polls in Minnesota show Walter Mondale with a lead, a lead of single digits, but a lead nonetheless.

And Norm Coleman knows that he's running up against something of a legend in the state of Minnesota. Walter Mondale, after all, is a person who served as senator for Minnesota, attorney general for Minnesota, vice president. He's also somebody, of course, who ran for president.

NORM COLEMAN (R), MINN. SEN. CANDIDATE: This is an uphill battle. I'm running against -- it's like running against Mount Rushmore, you know? But on the other hand, again, the problems, the challenges, the hopes, the opportunities are all real.

KARL: Mondale will first hit the campaign trail here in the Twin Cities with a town hall meeting, a series of radio interviews and a press conference. It's the beginning of a state-wide tour, and it's also the beginning of Walter Mondale's first political campaign in nearly 20 years.

Jonathan Karl, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.