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Years before he died, I knew someone in Montana and they said you couldn't go anywhere in Missoula without seeing a Wellstone bumper sticker plastered on a car. They were absolutely everywhere. How many Senators do you know that have large followings in other states to the point where people would put a bumper sticker on their car? Not many, I would bet. Especially one that had only been there a few years.
Senator Wellstone didn't just represent the people of MN. He was everyone's Senator, regardless of where you lived. Not only that, but I have always heard that he was widely respected by all the other Senators, even those that were 180 degrees opposite him in the political spectrum. They admired him because he stood up for what he believed in, stuck to his principles, AND treated everyone with respect, even those that completely disagreed with him. I remember one interview with a Senator (sorry, can't remember who. Specter maybe?) that said a bill was being brought to the floor and Wellstone said he was going to filibuster it. The Senator laughed and told his colleagues that if Wellstone is going to filibuster it, we might as well just drop it right now because he WILL succeed. They dropped the bill. That's how much they respected him. Wellstone was only one guy but he was truly a force to be reckoned with in the Senate.
He also said if you wanted to pass a bill and you thought Wellstone might filibuster it, it was best to go to him first and find out what he wanted and/or what changes he needed to see in the bill in order to NOT filibuster it. Wellstone would compromise in order to get things included that truly served the interests of the people but it would depend on how objectionable other things in the bill were. He wouldn't throw one group under the bus in order to get what he wanted for another group. That's just not how he worked. He had a set of guiding principles that he stuck to regardless and they served him (and the "little people" of this country) very well. And all the other Senators knew it and they knew what they were up against. "Did you run it by Paul?" was the question of the day back then.
Of course, like the rest of us, Wellstone wasn't perfect. He always said his biggest regret was voting for DOMA. If he had one vote he could take back, that would have been it. When the IWR came up, he faced a big dilemna. He had a LOT of work left to do in the Senate and he was afraid that voting against it might cost him his Senate seat. Then he decided that that was the entirely wrong way to look at things and if voting for what he believed in cost him the election, that was the decision of the people of MN and he would accept it. After he cast his vote against the IWR, he went up 7 points in the polls. The people of MN had indeed spoken. They rallied behind him and wanted him back in DC for another term. Sadly, that was not to be.
He is sorely missed to this day. He made a great Senator but he would have made an even greater President. He would have made FDR look like a damn corporate lackey in comparison. There will never be another Senator like Wellstone. This country could really use one right now but even more important than that, the people NEED one.
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