1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election

election for the governorship of the U.S. state of Minnesota

The 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Reform Party candidate Jesse Ventura beat Republican Party challenger Norm Coleman and Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party challenger Hubert H. "Skip" Humphrey III.[1]

1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election

← 1994 November 3, 1998 2002 →
 
Nominee Jesse Ventura Norm Coleman Skip Humphrey
Party Reform Republican Democratic (DFL)
Running mate Mae Schunk Gen Olson Roger Moe
Popular vote 773,713 717,350 587,528
Percentage 37.0% 34.3% 28.1%

County results
Ventura:      30-40%      40-50%      50-60%
Coleman:      30–40%      40–50%
Humphrey:      30-40%      40-50%      50–60%

Governor before election

Arne Carlson
Republican

Elected Governor

Jesse Ventura
Reform

Ventura's victory as a third party candidate was seen as a historic major upset, especially since he was a former professional wrestler. He ran on the Reform Party ticket, a party which had been founded by two-time presidential candidate Ross Perot who had received 23% of the vote in Minnesota in the 1992 presidential election and 12% in the 1996 election.[2]

Primary results

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Democratic

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Democratic Primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Skip Humphrey 154,037 37
Democratic Mike Freeman 78,895 19
Democratic Doug Johnson 78,041 19
Democratic Mark Dayton 74,706 18
Democratic Ted Mondale 29,749 7
Invalid or blank votes
Total votes 415,428 100
Turnout  

Republican

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Republican Primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Norm Coleman 107,989 91
Republican Bill Dahn 10,505 9
Invalid or blank votes
Total votes 118,494 100
Turnout  

Results

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1998 Gubernatorial Election, Minnesota
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Jesse Ventura 773,713 36.99% n/a
Republican Norm Coleman 717,350 34.29% -29.04%
Democratic (DFL) Skip Humphrey 587,528 28.09% -6.02%
Green Ken Pentel 7,034 0.34% n/a
Libertarian Frank Germann 1,932 0.09% -0.80%
Grassroots Chris Wright 1,727 0.08% -1.12%
People's Champion Fancy Ray McCloney 919 0.04% n/a
Socialist Workers Thomas Fiske 787 0.04% -0.14%
Write-ins 776 n/a
Majority 56,363 2.69%
Turnout 2,091,766 60%
Reform gain from Republican Swing

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Minnesota primary results - September 15, 1998". CNN.
  2. "A 'Bad Boy' Wrestler's Unscripted Upset". The New York Times. 5 November 1998.