Review
How did a forty-something college professor and outspoken liberal activist manage to unseat from the Senate one of the nation's most skillful politicians and fundraisers? This engaging insiders' account of Paul Wellstone's successful grassroots Senate campaign explains it all for you. Written by two political reports for the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) who covered the Wellstone campaign from its inception, Professor Wellstone Goes to Washington provides a revealing and evocative behind-the-scenes look at a memorable chapter in U. S. Senate campaign history. When Paul Wellstone announced his candidacy for the U. S. Senate at an inner-city community center in early 1989, no one thought he had a chance. His opponent, Republican Senator Rudy Boschwitz, was a popular politician and a celebrated master of the two most important skills of modern political campaigning, fundraising and television advertising. But to the surprise of many, Wellston, a student of grassroots organizing techniques, succeeded in putting together a campaign that served as a harbinger and a model for the anti-establishment populism of the 1990s. He rode to an unbelievable victory as the only Senate challenger to defeat an incumbent that year. This book is the story, in detail, of how he did it. -- Midwest Book Review
