1946 Minnesota gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1946 Minnesota gubernatorial election Minnesota 1893 presidential no 1944 Minnesota gubernatorial election 1944 1948 Minnesota gubernatorial election 1948 November 5, 1946 Luther Youngdahl 1949 (cropped).jpg Luther Youngdahl Republican Party (United States) 519,067 58.96% Haroldhenrybarker.jpg Harold H. Barker Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party 349,565 39.71% 1946 Minnesota gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 280px County resultsYoungdahl: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80%Barker: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% Governor Edward John Thye Republican Party of Minnesota Luther Youngdahl Republican Party of Minnesota The 1946 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1946. Incumbent governor Edward John Thye did not seek reelection, and instead ran for the United States Senate.1969-08-29 Associated Press Edward Thye, 73, Ex-Senator, Dies https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19690829&id=Br9SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4H0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3532,4207524 Republican candidate Luther Youngdahl defeated Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party challenger Harold H. Barker. Republican primary Luther Youngdahl was nominated, with his primary opposition being former Farmer-Laborite governor Hjalmar Petersen. Candidates Nominated Luther Youngdahl, associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court Eliminated in primary Adrian Edmund "Ed" Hickenlooper, electrician and nephew of Bourke Hickenlooper Hjalmar Petersen, former governor Results Republican Party of Minnesota primary results Republican Party (United States) Luther Youngdahl 261,307 64.61% Republican Party (United States) Hjalmar Petersen 133,852 33.10% Republican Party (United States) Ed Hickenlooper 9,254 2.29% 404,413 100% Governor, 1946 Election Minnesota Historical Election Archive https://mnelectionarchive.datamade.us/election/2319464015020600/ Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary Candidates Nominated Harold H. Barker, former speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Eliminated in primary Edgar Bernard, farmer, Republican primary candidate in 1934, and Farmer-Labor primary candidate in 1936, 1940 and 1942 Thomas P. Duffy, electrician Victor E. Johnson, farmer John J. McDonough, mayor of St. Paul and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives Francis L. Murphy, painter and 1944 nominee for lieutenant governor Results Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota primary results Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Harold H. Barker 52,780 44.67% Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Francis L. Murphy 21,589 18.27% Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Victor E. Johnson 15,357 13.00% Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party John J. McDonough 14,377 12.17% Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Thomas P. Duffy 7,375 6.24% Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Edgard Bernard 6,673 5.65% 118,151 100% Governor, 1946 Election Minnesota Historical Election Archive https://mnelectionarchive.datamade.us/election/2319464010120600/ Candidates Harold H. Barker, former speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives (DFL) Rudolph Gustafson, plumber (Industrial Government) Luther Youngdahl, associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (Republican) Campaigns Early in his campaign, Youngdahl received an endorsement from former Governor Harold Stassen.Home Precinct Backs Stassen — Thye Leads In Shipstead Area St. Paul Pioneer Press July 9, 1946 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19460709.1.4&srpos=3&e=------194-en-20--1--img-txIN-youngdahl----1946------- Youngdahl led an ambitious campaign. One of his major plans was an expansion to welfare, to meet the incredible rise in post-war demand for basic services. His focus was "...to prevent distress among dependent children, the blind, and the aged.”Youngdahl Cites Welfare Needs St. Paul Pioneer Press October 27, 1946 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19461027.1.20&srpos=10&e=------194-en-20--1--img-txIN-youngdahl----1946------- He also campaigned on funding for education, citing underpaid teachers and the need for new school buildings.School Aid Urged By Youngdahl St. Paul Pioneer Press October 31, 1946 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19461031.1.4&srpos=13&e=------194-en-20--1--img-txIN-youngdahl----1946------- His most ambitious plan was the "5-Point Housing Plan". It was as follows: Establishment of a state housing commission with full time executive staff working with an advisory citizens' volunteer group. Deferment of all but the most essential public construction until housing shortage is over. Passage of enabling legislation to permit the state and municipalities to take advantage of present and future federal housing acts. Provision for state rent control if federal control should be removed while need for such regulation still exists. Enactment of neighborhood redevelopment laws permitting public acquisition of blighted areas which could thus be cleared of obsolete structures and the lots resold to citizens for private home construction.Youngdahl Tells 5-Point Housing Plan St. Paul Pioneer Press September 13, 1946 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19460913.1.3&srpos=15&e=------194-en-20--1--img-txIN-youngdahl----1946------- Barker criticized Youngdahl's housing plans, stating that since Republicans retook the governorship in 1939 there had been plans to expand housing, and many committee and organizations had been founded, yet actual housing development was minimal. He further criticized that the committees in charge of overseeing housing construction had no veterans, union representatives, or farmers present, and that the funding for the plans were reliant on sales tax.Barker Hits GOP Housing Record St. Paul Pioneer Press September 18, 1946 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19460918.1.22&srpos=3&e=------194-en-20--1--img-txIN-Barker----1946------- Barker and Youngdahl generally agreed on focusing more resources of the state on education. Barker did not directly attack Youngdahl's plans, instead arguing that the Republicans were responsible for the underserving of rural schools, citing a 1945 decision by the Republican-led government diverting $25 million from funding from rural schools.Schools Cheated, Barker Charges St. Paul Pioneer Press October 2, 1946 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19461002.1.8&srpos=21&e=------194-en-20--21--img-txIN-Barker----1946------- Barker further criticized Republicans firing education officials around the state due to affiliation with the DFL, notably State Education Commissioner Dr. John G. Rockwell, and Winona State Teachers' College President Oscar Myking Mehus in 1944.Barker Cites GOP 'Politics' In Education St. Paul Pioneer Press October 30, 1946 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19461030.1.6&srpos=42&e=------194-en-20--41--img-txIN-Barker----1946------- Barker campaigned on tax reform. He planned to raise taxes on corporations, notably those involved in mining in the Mesabi Range, in order to lessen the tax burden on the people. Barker also advocated for enacting regulation on the rapidly expanding businesses of suburbia, notably department stores and chain stores that were detrimental to local small businesses.Parlin L.D. DFL Backs Man's Rights St. Paul Pioneer Press November 2, 1946 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19461102.1.6&srpos=11&e=------194-en-20--1--img-txIN-Barker----1946------- Youngdahl, a devout Lutheran, called for "spiritual progress", which he described as a moral and spiritual advance that allowed for the establishment of permanent peace and representative government.Youngdahl Urges Spiritual Progress St. Paul Pioneer Press October 24, 1946 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19461024.1.7&srpos=4&e=------194-en-20--1--img-txIN-youngdahl----1946------- Results 1946 gubernatorial election, Minnesota Republican Party (United States) Luther Youngdahl 519,067 58.96% -2.63% Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Harold H. Barker 349,565 39.71% +1.93% Industrial Government Party (United States) Rudolph Gustafson 11,716 1.33% +0.70% 169,502 19.25% 880,348 Republican Party (United States) See also List of Minnesota gubernatorial elections References External links Secretary of Statehttps://web.archive.org/web/20081127034443/http://www.sos.state.mn.us/home/index.asp?page=653 2008-11-27 Secretary of Statehttps://web.archive.org/web/20081127063715/http://www.sos.state.mn.us/home/index.asp?page=657 2008-11-27 Minnesota Historical Election Archive Gubernatorial 1946 Minnesota Category:November 1946 in the United States