By Michael Teitelbaum, CQ Staff

Senate candidate Al Franken told Minnesota’s Democratic National Convention delegates Monday that he had passed on a speaking slot to give himself more time to campaign.

Franken, who has trailed Sen. Norm Coleman , R-Minn., in most recent polls, reassured delegates at a breakfast that he could win, sharing a story he heard from David Wellstone, son of former Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone (1991-2002).

The younger Wellstone remembered how his father would always run alongside him at cross-country events when he was younger, and when he was getting tired near the end of a race and saw competitors ahead of him who might beat him, his father would always say, “You’re gonna take this guy.”

“I’m taking Norm Coleman ,” Franken told delegates.

“The leading indicator on the race is your gut. I started to see the buzz about six weeks ago . . . when I saw the crowd reactions greater and having more energy . . . People want a change,” he said.

He said he had passed on an Aug. 27 speaking slot to attend the ongoing Minnesota State Fair, talk to voters and eat some “amazing roasted corn.”

Meanwhile, former Sen. Walter F. Mondale (1964-1976) said Franken, a former comedian and radio host, is gaining ground because he has been able to “concentrate his arguments better.”

Mondale, vice president from 1977-1981, also suggested that presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama selected Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware for the same reason former President Jimmy Carter selected Mondale: Capitol Hill support.

Mondale said he also went on a lot of trips overseas to meet with foreign leaders, and said Biden’s foreign policy experience could serve a similar purpose.

In his speech to the delegates, Mondale talked about how the party has gone from being all white and male when he first went to a convention many years ago, to what he called “the most open representative party in the world.” Democrats usually defeat themselves when they lose the presidency and they usually are united when they win, “so let’s get this family together and win this election,” he said.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said her talks with Biden indicate he really wants to come to the state. Any appearance by Biden or Obama, a senator from Illinois, could be a useful boost to state Democrats, she said.

Two other speakers also appeared at the event. James P. Hoffa, head of the Teamsters union was joined by surprise guest Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. Both spoke about the need to get out the vote, with Dean focusing on voters in rural areas — a large constituency in Minnesota. Dean said Republicans “gin them up on divisive issues for the election and then forget about them for the next four years.”