MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AllPolitics, Oct. 31) -- This year's Senate contest is not so much a new race as a
continuation of the one from 1990, which resulted in Democrat
Paul Wellstone's upset win over Republican incumbent
Rudy Boschwitz.
Seeking to turn the tables in his rematch with Wellstone, Boschwitz has come back with a much more focused and disciplined campaign. And he is using the same kind of ammunition -- the incumbent's Senate record -- that his opponent used to oust him in 1990.
Wellstone eked out a two-percentage point victory that year over Boschwitz, who was the only incumbent senator in either party to lose a bid for re-election that year. With more than two weeks to go until Election Day, this year's rematch appears as if it could be as close as the 1990 contest.
Minnesota's airwaves have been crowded for some time with charges and counter-charges being hurled not only by the two campaigns, but also by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which has been hammering Wellstone for months.
The mantra from both Boschwitz and the NRSC has been that Wellstone is an "ultra-liberal" and "embarrassingly liberal." Boschwitz claims his opponent is a relic of the 1960s. He has blasted Wellstone on a wide range of issues, most notably the incumbent's vote against the welfare reform legislation signed into law in August.
Boschwitz claims Wellstone is soft on crime for voting
against mandatory sentences for criminals. He has also
characterized Wellstone as a typical tax-and-spend Democrat who
backed several tax increases in his first term, including an
increase on certain Social Security benefits for wealthy
retirees and a 4.3-cents-per-gallon increase in fuel taxes.
Wellstone, however, has again found plenty of fodder in Boschwitz's own Senate record. The Democrat fashions himself as a champion of working families and says Boschwitz is on the side of the "powerful special interests."
In particular, he has slammed Boschwitz in a television ad for voting against an increase in the minimum wage, while supporting a pay raise for senators. At the same time, Wellstone touts his efforts to pass legislation to increase the minimum wage and his 1991 vote against a Senate pay raise. "Paul Wellstone: He stands up for what's right" is the tag line on one Wellstone ad.
He has also attacked Boschwitz for opposing funding for "educational opportunities" and taking contributions from tobacco interests.
Some Democrats have reportedly expressed concern that the double-barreled attacks being lobbed at Wellstone are not being adequately answered. A few weeks ago, Wellstone switched media consultants and hired Mandy Grunwald, a former political adviser to President Bill Clinton. But some of the Democrats' concerns may have been allayed by a poll, released Oct. 15 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune and WCCO-TV, that showed Wellstone leading Boschwitz, 47-38 percent.
With Clinton leading GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole in Minnesota by as much as 17 points in some polls, Wellstone could be aided by a strong finish at the top of the ticket.
Another factor that could work in Wellstone's favor is the presence of Reform Party candidate Dean M. Barkley, who took 5 percent as an independent candidate in the 1994 Senate race won by Republican Rod Grams. Barkley appears to be pulling more votes from Boschwitz than Wellstone, according to Steven Schier, a political scientist at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. "In a close race, his support will matter," Schier said.
Congressional Quarterly contributed to this report.