 Democrat Walter Mondale also achieved national prominence as Vice President under Jimmy Carter . He served in the Senate from his appointment in 1964 until becoming Vice President in 1977 . In 1984 , he ran for President of the United States , choosing Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate . The election proved to be a landslide victory for popular incumbent Ronald Reagan . In 2002 , just 11 days before election day , when incumbent Senator Paul Wellstone was killed in a plane crash , Mondale stepped into the race as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate . He lost the bid by two percentage points to the Republican , Norm Coleman . 
