Dean Barkley to join U.S. Senate race

by Greta Cunningham, Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — Former Sen. Dean Barkley says he is almost certain he will enter Minnesota's U.S. Senate race today.

Barkley had been encouraging former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura to run for the seat.

Appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live" last night, Ventura said he would not file for Senate, unless God speaks to him and advises him otherwise.

Barkley served a brief stint in the Senate, when he was appointed by Ventura after the death of Sen. Paul Wellstone. Barkley says he's getting ready to run.

"I plan on going down and filing later this afternoon. I've all but made up my mind I'm 99.9 percent certain that I'm going to do it. And I'm going to enter the race to go back to Washington one more time," Barkley said.

Candidates have until 5 p.m. today to file with the Secretary of State's office.