October 25, 2002: Senator Paul Wellstone Is Killed In a Plane Crash

October 25, 2002: Senator Paul Wellstone, Democrat of Minnesota, running for a 3rd term, is killed in a plane crash outside Eveleth, Minnesota. One of the leading liberals in the U.S. Senate, he was 58 years old. His wife Sheila and his daughter Marcia are also killed. His sons David and Mark were not on the plane.

Paul David Wellstone was born on July 21, 1944 in Washington, D.C., the son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants. His father had changed the family name from Wexelstein to lessen anti-Semitism. Paul grew up across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia. He was an ACC Champion wrestler and a Phi Beta Kappa at the University of North Carolina, where he married Sheila Ison. They moved to Minnesota, where he became a college professor and she became a librarian, having 2 sons and a daughter.

His youthful activism hit all the usual liberal notes: Opposing the Vietnam War, labor rights, public education, health care, child care, rights for women and racial minorities, fair housing. In 1990, he beat incumbent Republican Rudy Boschwitz to gain election to the U.S. Senate. He gained a reputation as a fighting young liberal, and was re-elected in 1996.

He had a youthful following, hoping that he would become President one day, not unlike his Vermont contemporary, Bernie Sanders. But a 1998 diagnosis of multiple sclerosis made him drop plans for a Presidential campaign in 2000.

On October 25, 2002, Wellstone, along with 7 others, died in an airplane crash outside Eveleth, Minnesota, at 10:22 AM. He was 58 years old. The other victims were his wife, Sheila; one of his three children, Marcia; the two pilots, Richard Conry and Michael Guess; and campaign staffers Mary McEvoy, Tom Lapic and Will McLaughlin.

The Beechcraft King Air A100 was en route to Eveleth, where Wellstone was to attend the funeral of Martin Rukavina, a steelworker whose son Tom Rukavina served in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Wellstone decided to go to the funeral instead of a Minneapolis rally and fundraiser attended by former Vice President and Senator Walter Mondale, and fellow Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts -- who, ironically, survived a plane crash while running for re-election in 1964. That night, Wellstone was scheduled to debate the Republican nominee for his office, Mayor Norm Coleman of St. Paul, in Duluth.

A supporter hearing the news

It was 11 days before the election. His memorial service was held at Williams Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota. In accordance with State law, his name was removed from the ballot, and was replaced by that of a previous Senator from the State, and a former Vice President of the United States: Walter Mondale. He lost the election to Coleman of St. Paul.

Some observers blamed Wellstone's last vote in the Senate, to deny President George W. Bush the authority to go to war against Iraq. Others blamed the Williams Arena rally, calling it too partisan. Well, excuse the attendees for their love for their Senator.

The Republicans gained 8 seats in the House, and 2 in the Senate, the best Year 2 performance by the party in the White House since the Democrats under Franklin Roosevelt in 1934.

In addition to Coleman, among the new Republican Senators elected was Saxby Chambliss, who ran attacking the patriotism of his Democratic opponent, for voting against giving Bush the blank check on Iraq. That opponent was Max Cleland, who had lost both legs and his right arm in combat in Vietnam. Chambliss got deferments for that war. This proved that the Republicans were hypocrites on the subject of patriotism.

On the Democratic side, Mark Pryor was elected, as his father David had been before him.

In 2008, Coleman would be defeated by New York-born, but Minneapolis-raised comedian Al Franken.

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October 25, 2002 was a Friday. The World Series was between Games 5 and 6, and the Anaheim Angels would beat the San Francisco Giants in 7 games. 

There was 1 college football game played: The University of Hawaii beat Fresno State, 31-21 at Bulldog Stadium (now Valley Children's Stadium) in Fresno, California.

The NBA season started 5 days later. There were 5 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Los Angeles Kings, 6-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-4 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 7-3 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.