WASHINGTON -- Minnesota's two senators are turning to a former baseball owner in their effort to save the Minnesota Twins -- President Bush.

On Thursday, Sens. Paul Wellstone and Mark Dayton, both Democrats, asked Bush to support legislation that would rescind Major League Baseball's antitrust exemption.

Wellstone and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said they would introduce companion legislation next week that would revoke the exemption.

They hope to use the possibility of such legislation to scare baseball owners into scrapping plans to eliminate two baseball teams -- likely the Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos.

"Without your support, we believe it will be extremely difficult to move this legislation forward," Wellstone and Dayton wrote to Bush, a one-time owner of the Texas Rangers.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said it would be premature to comment before seeing the letter and the legislation.

Senators from neighboring states are already weighing in.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has asked the Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on the antitrust exemption. He worries that two Iowa minor league baseball teams -- the Expos' Clinton Lumber Kings and the Twins' Quad City River Bandits -- would be eliminated as well.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said he warned Commissioner Bud Selig a few months ago that Selig would have "a huge problem with me" if he tried to shut down the Twins.

The state's other senator, Democrat Kent Conrad, said Minnesota and the Twin Cities share some of the blame.

"Frankly, they didn't show much interest in doing the things necessary to save that franchise," he said. Conrad's wife, Lucy Calautti, works for Selig as Major League Baseball's lobbyist in Washington.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said he would look at the legislation. He also said he would call Selig to express his concerns.

"He thinks that Major League Baseball should take a long look at the concerns that the Senate has expressed," said spokesman Jay Carson.

On Wednesday, Dayton had called efforts to save the Twins through legislation "pure foolery," but he said Thursday that the effort would be worthwhile if it had the president's backing.

A 1922 Supreme Court ruling exempted baseball from antitrust laws on grounds that it was a sport, not interstate commerce. Three years ago, Congress revoked the exemption, but only for labor relations -- not for matters involving relocation, league expansion or the minor leagues.