Jesse Ventura considers race for Senate

SAINT PAUL, Minn., July 12 (UPI) -- Jesse Ventura, the former pro wrestler, actor and ex-governor of Minnesota, has talked with advisers about possibly running for the U.S. Senate, officials said.

Advisers have said Ventura had yet to decide whether he will run, but his decision will be publicized in a television announcement Monday, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis reported Friday.

"He's playing this one pretty tight. He's going through all the mechanics of it, but I have no idea what he's going to decide," said Dean Barkley, who managed Ventura's successful 1998 independent candidacy for governor.

Ventura said Friday he sees the race as "wide open" with candidates including Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and comedian Al Franken, who locked in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsement last month.

Americans "want someone to shake up Washington. I keep saying to myself, if not me, then who?" Ventura told reporters.