Sen Wellstone, killed in King Air Crash

[kevin922 0]

CNN Article here

EVELETH, Minnesota (CNN) -- Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone, his wife Sheila and daughter Marcia died Friday in a small plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota, Democratic sources said.

The sources said three staff members and two crew members also died in the crash.

The plane went down in a wooded area about seven miles east of Eveleth-Virginia Municipal Airport. Officials said bad weather was reported in the area, and the last contact with the plane was at 10:20 a.m. when the plane was about two miles from the Eveleth airport.

Choking back tears, a Senate colleague expressed his sympathy. "He was such a good man, and his wife too," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont. "All of these people had families and they had friends and this is a horrible, horrible thing."

Such sentiments were echoed by Republicans. "He always just had a love for every person because you knew everything that he was talking about he deeply believed in and deeply cared about," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas. "And then he cared deeply about the people around him. He was a very engaging person."

Wellstone held a key Democratic seat in the U.S. Senate and had been criss-crossing the state in a tough re-election campaign against former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman.

The plane, a twin-engine turboprop King Air manufactured by Raytheon Aircraft, took off from Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie, a southwestern suburb of Minneapolis. He was scheduled to attend a funeral in the northeast, followed by a campaign stop in Duluth.

Wellstone, 58, won his Senate seat in 1990, the only challenger that year to unseat an incumbent.

The son of Russian immigrants, Wellstone was raised in Arlington, Virginia, and was a champion wrestler at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he earned both a bachelor's degree and a doctorate.

Wellstone was a champion of health care coverage expansion and environmental concerns, and was considered by many to be one of the Senate's most liberal members.

The crash leaves a void in the state's election for the Senate.

Under Minnesota law, if a nominee in a Senate race dies during a campaign, his or her political party can select a replacement candidate no later than four days before the general election. Election Day this year is November 5.

The Republican National Committee had shown a strong interest in defeating Wellstone, known as one of the most liberal members of the Senate.

When the senator broke his promise to serve only two terms, Republicans took it as a challenge to ensure his defeat.

[f1freak 0]

sad new's, minnesota is my home state...

HAVE FUN...
...JUST DONT DIE

[Skitzo 0]

Very Sad Does anyone who owned the plane? Who the pilot was? How much experience he had or any of that information?
When I saw it on the news I instantly ran to hear the story and while sad to hear it, was relieved it was not skydiving related.
-

"How do you keep your feet on the ground when you know you were born to fly?"

[cloud9 0]

While I think its sad that anyone gets killed in a plane crash. What's really sad is 7 other people were killed along with the senator and almost nothing was said about them and their family's

[Michele 1]

From what I understand, Senator Wellstone, his wife Sheila, their daughter Marcia, three staff members, and two pilots were the ones killed. Senator Wellstone is survived by two sons.

Perhaps nothing has been said because of the notification of family members. Then again, when Payne Stewart died, not much was said about the other folks in that plane, either.

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[phatcat 0]

Wellstone was an OK kind of guy. He had that bitchin' BUS for crying out loud (Not sure of non-Minnesotans are familar with it, but trust me, I'd be damn proud to park that at a DZ.) This is such a bummer

[narcimund 0]

How incredibly convenient and well-timed for the president's party.

First Class Citizen Twice Over

[phatcat 0]

Huh?

[Jessica 0]

This was a crucial race for the Democrats, who are trying very hard to maintain their majority in the Senate. It will be hard to put a Democrat in that seat now, with like a week and a half left for campaigning.

Skydiving is for cool people only

[phatcat 0]

Yeah, I know that, I just think that it's bad taste to worry about the political consequences of somebody's death so soon after the incident.

[Jessica 0]

Quote

I just think that it's bad taste to worry about the political consequences of somebody's death so soon after the incident.

I do too, but the Dems don't. They were frantically trying to replace him within hours. Looks like it's gonna be Walter Mondale.

Skydiving is for cool people only

[bobsled92 0]

I think the "Convenient" statement was a mark of suspicion on the sudden event.

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[Void425 0]

I just feel bad he never took up skydiving, he may be around if he did.

[Scoby 0]

If I were the conspiracy type, I'd note that it's odd that two Democrat senate candidates have died in small plane crashes in the closing weeks, two elections in a row. But I'm not. It's unfortunate, especially as Wellstone was one of the few truly respectable individuals in Congress, regardless of political views.