Minnesota Gubernatorial Elections, 1857-present

The following is a list of gubernatorial election results in the state of Minnesota from 1857 to the present.

1857

The 1857 election was held before Minnesota gained statehood in 1858.

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Henry H. Sibley	Democratic	17,790	50%
	Alexander Ramsey	Republican	17,550	50%

1859-1883

From 1859 until 1883, gubernatorial elections were held biennially in odd-numbered years.

1859

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Alexander Ramsey	Republican	21,335	55%
	George L. Becker	Democratic	17,582	45%

1861

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Alexander Ramsey*	Republican	16,274	61%
	E. O. Hamblin	Democratic	10,448	39%

1863

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Stephen Miller	Republican	19,628	%
	Henry T. Welles	Democratic	12,739	%

1886-1962

From 1886 until 1962, gubenatorial elections were held biennially in even-numbered years. Starting with the 1962 election, the gubernatorial term was increased from two to four years.

1944

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Edward J. Thye	Republican	701,185	62%
	Byron G. Allen	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	430,132	38%
	Gerald M. York	Industrial Government	7,151	0%

Republican Hold

1946

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Luther W. Youngdahl	Republican	519,067	59%
	Harold H. Barker	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	349,565	40%
	Rudolph Gustafson	Industrial Government (Socialist Labor)	11,716	1%

Republican Hold

1948

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Luther W. Youngdahl*	Republican	643,572	%
	Charles L. Halsted	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	545,766	%
	Orville E. Olson	Prohibition	14,950	%
	Rudolph Gustafson	Industrial Government (Socialist Labor)	6,598	%

Republican Hold

1950

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Luther W. Youngdahl*	Republican	635,800	%
	Harry H. Peterson	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	400,637	%
	Vernon G. Campbell	Industrial Government (Socialist Labor)	10,195	%

Republican Hold

1952

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	C. Elmer Anderson	Republican	785,125	%
	Orville L. Freeman	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	624,480	%
	Martin Fredrickson	Progressive	5,227	%
	Eldrid H. Bauers	Industrial Government (Socialist Labor)	4,037	%

Republican Hold

1954

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Orville L. Freeman	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	607,099	%
	C. Elmer Anderson*	Republican	538,865	%
	Ross Schelin	Industrial Government	5,453	%

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gain

1956

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Orville L. Freeman*	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	731,180	%
	Ancher Nelsen	Republican	685,196	%
	Rudolph Gustafson	Industrial Government	5,785	%

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Hold

1958

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Orville L. Freeman*	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	658,326	%
	George MacKinnon	Republican	490,731	%
	Arne Anderson	Industrial Government	10,858	%

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Hold

1960

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Elmer L. Andersen	Republican	783,813	%
	Orville L. Freeman*	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	760,934	%
	Rudolph Gustafson	Industrial Government	5,518	%

Republican Gain

1962

The 1962 gubernatorial election was one of the closest in state history and remained undecided until March 1963.

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Karl F. Rolvaag	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	619,842	%
	Elmer L. Andersen*	Republican	619,751	%
	William Braatz	Industrial Government	7,234	%

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gain

1966-present

1966

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Harold LeVander	Republican	680,593	53%
	Karl F. Rolvaag*	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	607,943	47%
	Kenneth Sachs	Industrial Government	6,522	1%

Republican Gain

1970

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Wendell R. Anderson	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	737,921	%
	Douglas M. Head	Republican	621,780	%
	Karl Heck	Industrial Government	4,781	%
	Jack Kirkham	Write-in	961	%

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gain

1974

	Governor Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Won
	Wendell R. Anderson	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	786,787	%
	John W. Johnson	Republican	367,722	%
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