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Party Sources: Mondale Will Replace Wellstone

Aired October 30, 2002 - 13:01   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.


MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Less than a week before midterm elections, the political spotlight now on Minnesota, where former vice president and Senator Walter Mondale expected to announce that he is running for the Senate again. Party sources say Mondale will replace Senator Paul Wellstone, who was killed last Friday in a plane crash. Our national correspondent Bob Franken is live from Minneapolis and joins us with these developments.
Is it all over as far as any excitement or surprise now, Bob?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't know if that's the case. We do know that Mondale has, in fact, sent the letter that we've been reporting he would send to the Democratic Party chairman, the DFL Party, as you pointed out, being the Democratic Party here, saying that if he is chosen, he will run to replace Wellstone. It's going to occur right in back of me. You can see the DFL on the marquee of the state theater in downtown Minneapolis, where the party is going to gather this evening.

Mondale is already preparing his speech to accept the nomination. No other events scheduled tomorrow. He will file the papers, and then probably start talking to the press and beginning his campaign.

Meanwhile, the Republicans are already complaining about the event last night at the Williams Arena in Minneapolis, which was supposed to be a memorial for Paul Wellstone, and it turned into a raucous political demonstration in the minds of the Republicans. More than 20,000, an overflow crowd, that included former President Bill Clinton, and his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. It included a variety of Democratic luminaries so partisan that at one point the Senate Republican minority leader Trent Lott was booed by the crowd. And Republicans are demanding equal time from television stations here.

The TV stations point out that, in fact, on Sunday, President Bush will come to campaign in support of the Republican candidate Norm Coleman, and that will probably roughly equal out, they say, to equal time.

As far as the Democratic nature of the event yesterday, the chairman of the party says, Republicans just don't understand what Wellstone was all about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE ERLANDSON, DFL PARTY CHAIRMAN: The Republicans, of course, in the middle of a memorial service decided to call it politics. It wasn't politics; it was Paul Wellstone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And that was Mike Erlandson, as I said, who is the Democratic Party chairman. Now Republicans are already teeing off on Walter Mondale saying, in effect, he's obsolete. He last ran for office in 1984. They're challenging him to a series of debates. And one of the local newspapers, Martin, "The Minneapolis Star Tribune," along with a television station, is going to send a letter offering a debate this Friday. No word from the Democrats on whether that challenge will be accepted -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Assuming, Bob, it's a done deal with Walter Mondale, you say he begins his campaign. What sort of campaign do you launch with less than a week to go?

FRANKEN: Well, that's a good question. They're talking about that right now. But it's basically going to be to walk around or go around the state, reintroduce himself, make sure nobody has missed the news. Probably not really something that is much of a chance, even in some of the more obscure areas of the iron range and all that.

But what about the Republican candidate, Norm Coleman? His campaign has resumed after a moratorium following Paul Wellstone's death. He is, in fact, going across the state today. He's going to be pushing very hard. The Republicans realize that they have an uphill battle. Mondale is already leading Coleman in the polls, 47 to 41, according to "The Star Tribune."

SAVIDGE: Bob Franken, thank you very much, live, reporting to us from Minneapolis.

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 30, 2002 - 13:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Less than a week before midterm elections, the political spotlight now on Minnesota, where former vice president and Senator Walter Mondale expected to announce that he is running for the Senate again. Party sources say Mondale will replace Senator Paul Wellstone, who was killed last Friday in a plane crash. Our national correspondent Bob Franken is live from Minneapolis and joins us with these developments.
Is it all over as far as any excitement or surprise now, Bob?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't know if that's the case. We do know that Mondale has, in fact, sent the letter that we've been reporting he would send to the Democratic Party chairman, the DFL Party, as you pointed out, being the Democratic Party here, saying that if he is chosen, he will run to replace Wellstone. It's going to occur right in back of me. You can see the DFL on the marquee of the state theater in downtown Minneapolis, where the party is going to gather this evening.

Mondale is already preparing his speech to accept the nomination. No other events scheduled tomorrow. He will file the papers, and then probably start talking to the press and beginning his campaign.

Meanwhile, the Republicans are already complaining about the event last night at the Williams Arena in Minneapolis, which was supposed to be a memorial for Paul Wellstone, and it turned into a raucous political demonstration in the minds of the Republicans. More than 20,000, an overflow crowd, that included former President Bill Clinton, and his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. It included a variety of Democratic luminaries so partisan that at one point the Senate Republican minority leader Trent Lott was booed by the crowd. And Republicans are demanding equal time from television stations here.

The TV stations point out that, in fact, on Sunday, President Bush will come to campaign in support of the Republican candidate Norm Coleman, and that will probably roughly equal out, they say, to equal time.

As far as the Democratic nature of the event yesterday, the chairman of the party says, Republicans just don't understand what Wellstone was all about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE ERLANDSON, DFL PARTY CHAIRMAN: The Republicans, of course, in the middle of a memorial service decided to call it politics. It wasn't politics; it was Paul Wellstone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And that was Mike Erlandson, as I said, who is the Democratic Party chairman. Now Republicans are already teeing off on Walter Mondale saying, in effect, he's obsolete. He last ran for office in 1984. They're challenging him to a series of debates. And one of the local newspapers, Martin, "The Minneapolis Star Tribune," along with a television station, is going to send a letter offering a debate this Friday. No word from the Democrats on whether that challenge will be accepted -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Assuming, Bob, it's a done deal with Walter Mondale, you say he begins his campaign. What sort of campaign do you launch with less than a week to go?

FRANKEN: Well, that's a good question. They're talking about that right now. But it's basically going to be to walk around or go around the state, reintroduce himself, make sure nobody has missed the news. Probably not really something that is much of a chance, even in some of the more obscure areas of the iron range and all that.

But what about the Republican candidate, Norm Coleman? His campaign has resumed after a moratorium following Paul Wellstone's death. He is, in fact, going across the state today. He's going to be pushing very hard. The Republicans realize that they have an uphill battle. Mondale is already leading Coleman in the polls, 47 to 41, according to "The Star Tribune."

SAVIDGE: Bob Franken, thank you very much, live, reporting to us from Minneapolis.

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