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CNN Live Today
U.S. Senate Race in Minnesota
Aired November 05, 2002 - 10:01 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: One of the most contentious battles has been waged in Minnesota. Yesterday morning -- you saw this live here on CNN -- Governor Jesse Ventura added to the partisan split by appointing a fellow Independent to the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Democrat Paul Wellstone.
Minnesota voters are today electing Wellstone's successor, and in the process, help decide control of the divided Senate.
Our national correspondent Bob Franken has been in Minnesota for the last two days, and he joins us from what was - it was a snowy St. Paul earlier today.
Bob, it looks like things have cleared up a bit -- good morning to you.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Chilly indeed; snowing here as a matter of fact.
And the snow seems to be having no effect on turnout. We are being told by state election officials that there is a very heavy turnout throughout the state -- extremely heavy at the polling place of Walter Mondale, the 74-year-old recent recruit to the Democratic ticket, who only has had a five-day campaign. He's voting now after an intense five-day campaign after he was recruited to replace Paul Wellstone, who died in a plane crash over a week ago.
Mondale was voting this morning. As I said, it was a polling place that was jammed full of people, a crowd that is being reflected across the state in a high-interest race. Of course, Mondale is a political icon here, last run for office 18 years ago, but is just a prominent name here.
He's running against the Republican Norm Coleman, 53 years old, the young whippersnapper, as they would call him here, who took his last day and tested his relative youth with a 17-hour bus tour from the northern part of the state to St. Paul, where he is now. His vote is expected soon.
And it is going to be a too-close-to-call election, at least for the start of things. The newspapers, in fact, have separate polls at the end of it. One of them, the "Star Tribune," shows Walter Mondale slightly ahead by 5 points. The other one, the "St. Paul Pioneer Press," has it just the other way around.
And so, this is a race where the statistics are really too close to call. They're insignificant statistics, so we probably won't know the result, in fact, until quite late.
Because of the fact that Mondale was a late add, they had to come up with supplemental ballots which will have to be counted by hand. And if all things go well, officials say, they'll be done around midnight. Of course, there's always the possibility that things won't go well.
Too close to call, an exciting race, a very, very intriguing story, which ending that we don't know yet -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Which is why Leon and I will be working so late into the morning.
Bob Franken, thanks so much.
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 November 5, 2002 - 10:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: One of the most contentious battles has been waged in Minnesota. Yesterday morning -- you saw this live here on CNN -- Governor Jesse Ventura added to the partisan split by appointing a fellow Independent to the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Democrat Paul Wellstone.
Minnesota voters are today electing Wellstone's successor, and in the process, help decide control of the divided Senate.
Our national correspondent Bob Franken has been in Minnesota for the last two days, and he joins us from what was - it was a snowy St. Paul earlier today.
Bob, it looks like things have cleared up a bit -- good morning to you.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Chilly indeed; snowing here as a matter of fact.
And the snow seems to be having no effect on turnout. We are being told by state election officials that there is a very heavy turnout throughout the state -- extremely heavy at the polling place of Walter Mondale, the 74-year-old recent recruit to the Democratic ticket, who only has had a five-day campaign. He's voting now after an intense five-day campaign after he was recruited to replace Paul Wellstone, who died in a plane crash over a week ago.
Mondale was voting this morning. As I said, it was a polling place that was jammed full of people, a crowd that is being reflected across the state in a high-interest race. Of course, Mondale is a political icon here, last run for office 18 years ago, but is just a prominent name here.
He's running against the Republican Norm Coleman, 53 years old, the young whippersnapper, as they would call him here, who took his last day and tested his relative youth with a 17-hour bus tour from the northern part of the state to St. Paul, where he is now. His vote is expected soon.
And it is going to be a too-close-to-call election, at least for the start of things. The newspapers, in fact, have separate polls at the end of it. One of them, the "Star Tribune," shows Walter Mondale slightly ahead by 5 points. The other one, the "St. Paul Pioneer Press," has it just the other way around.
And so, this is a race where the statistics are really too close to call. They're insignificant statistics, so we probably won't know the result, in fact, until quite late.
Because of the fact that Mondale was a late add, they had to come up with supplemental ballots which will have to be counted by hand. And if all things go well, officials say, they'll be done around midnight. Of course, there's always the possibility that things won't go well.
Too close to call, an exciting race, a very, very intriguing story, which ending that we don't know yet -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Which is why Leon and I will be working so late into the morning.
Bob Franken, thanks so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
