1902 Minnesota gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1902 Minnesota gubernatorial election Minnesota 1893 presidential no 1900 Minnesota gubernatorial election 1900 1904 Minnesota gubernatorial election 1904 November 4, 1902 File:Samuel R. Van Sant (1844-1936) (3467740188) (cropped).jpg Samuel Rinnah Van Sant Republican Party of Minnesota 155,849 57.53% File:Leonard A. Rosing.jpg Leonard A. Rosing Democratic Party of Minnesota 99,362 36.68% 1902 Minnesota gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 250px County resultsSant: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% #c21b18 80–90% Rosing: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% Governor Samuel Rinnah Van Sant Republican Party of Minnesota Samuel Rinnah Van Sant Republican Party of Minnesota The 1902 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1902. Republican Party of Minnesota incumbent Samuel Rinnah Van Sant defeated Democratic Party of Minnesota challenger Leonard A. Rosing. This would be the last election the Populist Party would contest. Candidates Thomas J. Meighen, member of the state Board of Equalization (Populist) Jay E. Nash, Socialist Party of Minnesota founder (Independent) Leonard A. Rosing, chair of the Democratic Party (Democrat) Charles Scanlon, president of Macalaster College (Prohibition) Thomas Van Lear, machinist (Socialist Labor) Samuel Rinnah Van Sant, incumbent (Republican) Campaigns On June 25, 1902, the Democratic State Convention was held. John Lind was first hoped to be the nominee, but declined to run. It was expected he would be unanimously nominated.LIND THE MAN SAYS ROSING June 12, 1902 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19020612.1.1&srpos=7&e=------190-en-20--1--img-txIN-Rosing----1902------- The convention then turned to State Senator John Albert Johnson. Johnson, when told he had the votes for the nomination, also turned it down because he did not believe he could win against Van Sant, and he believed himself to be too young. Once both candidates with a chance of a unanimous nomination had declined, other hopefuls announced they would run. The candidates for the primary ended up as Leonard A. Rosing, State Senator Charles O. Baldwin, and attorney F. D. Larrabie. Christopher D. O'Brien gave a speech in favor of Rosing, turning the momentum towards him. After Lind was renominated, and the motion to renominate him was declared out of order, Larrabie withdrew his candidacy. Baldwin did the same shortly after. Rosing was nominated, saying he would "[r]ather run as a Democrat to certain defeat than to certain victory as a Republican."HAVE NO HOPE OF VICTORY June 26, 1902 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19020626.1.1&srpos=3&e=------190-en-20--1--img-txIN-Rosing----1902------- thumb|1902 Minnesota Republican State Convention At the Republican State Convention, on July 1, 1902, Van Sant was unanimously nominated for a second term. Initially, Tams Bixby had been thought to be running for the Republican nomination, but instead, when interviewed, clarified he had no intention of running, and endorsed Van Sant.BIXBY NOT A CANDIDATE May 9, 1902 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19020509.1.1&srpos=31&e=------190-en-20--21--img-txIN-Van+Sant----1902------- The campaign was opened, and the convention was ended, by Senator Knute Nelson ceremonially firing a gun.GOOD MEN, ALL OF THEM July 2, 1902 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19020702.1.1&srpos=5&e=------190-en-20--1--img-txIN-Convention----1902------- With Rosing seen as unable to win, the Populists (who otherwise would have supported Lind again) decided not to endorse Rosing. Populist State Representative Ole O. Sageng stated, "They [the Democrats] forget that in 1894, the last time there was a populist state ticket in the field, the Populist candidate for governor received more votes than the Democratic candidate."SEES NO HOPE FOR DEMOCRATS July 4, 1902 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19020704.1.2&srpos=26&e=------190-en-20--21--img-txIN-Rosing----1902------- The populists instead nominated Thomas J. Meighen. In early October, a coal miner's strike began. At the time, Van Sant was in Chicago. In his absence, Democratic-aligned newspaper the St. Paul Globe claimed that Van Sant was against the strikes and that the workers, not the coal barons, were to blame. Van Sant telegrammed multiple other newspapers to clarify he had made no such statement, and condemned the coal barons for their unwillingness to negotiate with the workers.SYMPATHY FOR MINERS October 8, 1902 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19021008.1.1&srpos=15&e=------190-en-20--1--img-txIN-Van+Sant----1902------- Lind and Rosing campaigned together, and praised the progressive Republican president Theodore Roosevelt's policies. Roosevelt was overwhelmingly popular with the labor vote, and the Rosing campaign attempted to draw similarities between the policies of Rosing and Roosevelt to draw further support to them.LIND AND ROSING OPEN CAMPAIGN October 3, 1902 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19021003.1.3&srpos=8&e=------190-en-20--1--img-txIN-Rosing----1902------- Van Sant toured the state as part of his campaign, ending it in the Iron Range, with a speech in Eveleth on November 1. This was part of a larger effort to win the labor vote, which had been very competitive with Democrats since the 1896 election.RANGE TOUR COMPLETED November 2, 1902 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19021102.1.1&srpos=7&e=------190-en-20--1--img-txIN-Van+Sant----1902------- The poor chances for Rosing had a minor economic impact, as election betting was a standard practice at the time. Rosing's slim chance resulted in extremely little betting, and what betting there was, was largely over the margin of Van Sant's victory, rather than whose victory it would be. Judge Robert Jamison bet on a Van Sant victory margin of 10,000 votes, which would already be a landslide for Van Sant, but would end up undershooting the actual result by 46,000.NO ONE WANTS TO BET ON ROSING November 1, 1902 https://newspaperhub.mnhs.org/?a=d&d=sppp19021101.1.3&srpos=17&e=------190-en-20--1--img-txIN-Rosing----1902------- Perhaps the least accurate prediction came from the Populist party, who predicted they would have 40,000 votes, a figure ten times the actual figure. Results 1902 gubernatorial election, Minnesota Republican Party (United States) Samuel Rinnah Van Sant (incumbent) 155,849 57.53% +8.86% Democratic Party (United States) Leonard A. Rosing 99,362 36.68% -11.27% Prohibition Party (United States) Charles Scanlon 5,765 2.13% +0.40% People's Party (United States) Thomas J. Meighen 4,821 1.78% +1.54% Socialist Labor Party of America Thomas Van Lear 2,570 0.95% +0.67% Independent (politician) Jay E. Nash 2,521 0.93% -0.20% 56,487 20.85% 270,888 Republican Party (United States) See also List of Minnesota gubernatorial elections References External links Minnesota Historical Election Archive Minnesota Gubernatorial 1902 Category:November 1902 in the United States