The Oct. 25 plane crash and death of Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., left some ISU students looking at Wellstone’s past and toward the future of this year’s neck-and-neck Senate race.

Walter Mondale, former U.S. vice president, announced Wednesday he would run in Wellstone’s place.

Glenn Smith, sophomore in political science from Eagan, Minn., said Mondale is a worthy replacement for Wellstone. “Mondale is a good choice because he’s credible and people know who he is and where he stands on a lot of [issues],” he said.

Smith said he thinks Mondale will make a similar showing compared to Wellstone’s ratings before his death.

Mondale will most likely win on a sympathy vote, he said. “I thought [Republican candidate Norm] Coleman had a lot better chance when it was just him nose-to-nose with Wellstone,” he said. “You never know, now it isn’t actually Wellstone running and change their minds. It might give [Coleman] a better chance.”

James McCormick, professor and chair of the political science department, said Mondale could definitely win next week’s election.

“My view is that Coleman has an uphill fight because of the degree to which Mondale is well-known and well-connected within Minnesota,” he said. “Even though the polls were close with the Wellstone-Coleman race prior to Wellstone’s death, some natural support will go to Mondale.”

If Mondale wins the Senate race next week, McCormick said it will result from some combination of a sympathy vote and Mondale’s Minnesota connections.

McCormick said Coleman will most likely cite Mondale’s voluntary leave from politics to present himself as a candidate for the future.

Philip Vaughter, junior in biology, said he sent in his absentee ballot nearly two weeks before Wellstone’s death.

Vaughter, who lives near St. Cloud, Minn., said he has a hard enough time just getting an absentee ballot, and now he is frustrated because “no one’s been able to give me a straight answer about what’s going to happen to my vote.”

He said he would rather his vote be counted toward Mondale than be null, but wished he knew more about Mondale’s stance.

“I wish we knew a little more from Mondale about where he stood, because Wellstone was so good at telling us,” Vaughter said. “Wellstone’s death is not only a loss for Minnesota. It’s a loss of one of the most consistently liberal senators this term.”

Vaughter was angered by the response of some senators he thought were “sucking up after his death.”

Jennifer Miller, freshman in pre-advertising from Brooklyn Center, Minn., said Minnesota is shaken up and somewhat lost after Wellstone’s death.

“I feel really bad because I’m not there to grieve with my family and friends back home,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’m really helping since I’m here [in Ames].”