WI: Wellstone lives!

This has always been an interesting prospect to me, and I'm curious to hear what you all think.

I would venture that if Wellstone doesn't die in 2002, he goes to the Kennedy/Mondale rally instead of north to Rukavina's funeral, he easily goes on to beat Norm Coleman and returns to the Senate.

From there, I think it's likely that he would have been a Presidential candidate in either 2004 or 2008. Both provide interesting possibilities.

2004: Wellstone runs, sucking up the grassroots activists support of Dean IRL, and not imploding in a big, excited, yelp. Probably would have lost to Kerry.

2008: Had Wellstone ran in 2008, I contend that he likely would have soaked up a lot of the left-wing/grassroots support that swept into Obama's success, possibly dampering, preventing, or even helping derail an Obama victory. Clinton/Wellstone 2008?
 
Wellstone is too politically cautious to run in 2004. If he wouldn't run against Gore, he sure as hell won't run against a relatively strong looking (in 2003 anyway) incumbent Republican. He'll endorse Dean and ultimately Kerry, and probably end up on the Veep shortlist, but won't get picked.

2008 is a different story. Assuming that butterflies are minimal, a Wellstone candidacy would almost certainly hand the nomination to Clinton as Wellstone, not Edwards and not Obama, becomes the de facto candidate of the white liberal wing of the party. Clinton wins the nomination rather handily, picks Wellstonite Sherrod Brown for her running mate, and laughs all the way to the bank with a landslide over McCain.

Wellstone (unable to seek another term in the Senate thanks to a Presidential bid in 2008) is elected Governor of Minnesota in 2010.
 
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