Wellstone, Paul David, 1944-2002

WELLSTONE, Paul David, a Senator from Minnesota; born in Washington, D.C., July 21, 1944; attended the public schools in Arlington, Va.; B.A., University of North Carolina, 1965; Ph.D., University of North Carolina 1969; taught political science at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, 1969-1990; director, Minnesota Community Energy Program, September 1983-September 1984; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1990; reelected in 1996 and served from January 3, 1991, until his death in a plane crash on October 25, 2002; interment in Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minn.

<p>Paul David Wellstone (July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002) was an American academic, author, and politician who represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1991 until he was killed in a plane crash in Eveleth, Minnesota, in 2002. A member of the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, Wellstone was a leader of the progressive wing of the national Democratic Party.</p>

<p>Born in Washington, D.C., Wellstone attended high school in Arlington, Virginia, graduating from Yorktown High School. He then graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. and Ph.D. in political science. Wellstone was a professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and a community organizer in Rice County before entering politics. In 1982, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for State Auditor against Republican Arne Carlson.</p>

<p>Wellstone gained national attention after his upset victory over Republican incumbent Rudy Boschwitz in the 1990 US Senate election. Widely considered an underdog and outspent seven to one, he was the only challenger in the country to defeat an incumbent senator in 1990. In his 1996 reelection campaign, he defeated Boschwitz in a rematch. He won the elections with 50.4% and 50.3% of the vote, respectively.</p>