The gripping story behind Paul Wellstone’s progressive legacy

Before he was a senator, before he was a nationally known advocate for the disenfranchised and a tireless supporter of public policies to alleviate poverty, Paul Wellstone devoted his time and legendary energy to grassroots organizing. How the Rural Poor Got Power describes Wellstone’s experiences as a political activist in rural Minnesota. Working with senior citizens, struggling farmers, and single mothers, Wellstone created a coalition to address transportation, access to health care, and welfare benefits issues. This narrative features interviews with citizens and shows Wellstone observing and participating in the ideals to which he devoted his life: helping poor people gain a political voice.

Paul Wellstone (1944–2002) was professor of political science at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and worked as a political organizer before being elected to the Senate in 1990. His untimely death in a plane crash during the 2002 election galvanized public interest in his vision for progressive politics. His work, ideas, and beliefs are described in The Conscience of a Liberal, available in paperback from the University of Minnesota Press.