1977 Minnesota's 7th congressional district special election

none February 2026 October 2017 Minnesota's 7th congressional district special election, 1977 Minnesota 1957 presidential no United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 1976 1976 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 1978 1978 February 22, 1977 125x136px 150x150px Arlan Stangeland Independent-Republican Party 71,340 57.58% x120px Mike Sullivan Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party 45,490 36.72% Representative Bob Bergland Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Arlan Stangeland Independent-Republican Party The 1977 United States House of Representatives special election in Minnesota's 7th congressional district was held on February 22, 1977, to select the successor to Bob Bergland (DFL) who resigned to accept appointment as Secretary of Agriculture under the Carter Administration. Independent-Republican candidate Arlan Stangeland defeated the DFL favorite, Mike Sullivan, in an upset landslide. Race description On January 22, 1977, Bob Bergland, who had served as the United States representative from Minnesota's 7th congressional district since 1971, resigned in order to accept appointment by President Jimmy Carter as Secretary of Agriculture. All indications prior to the special election seemed to favor the odds that the DFL would hold the district. Bergland won the district in successive landslide victories since its reapportionment following the 1970 census, winning nearly sixty percent of the vote in 1972, over 75 percent in 1974, and 72.34 percent in 1976. The DFL and the Independent-Republican Party each held special primary elections on February 8. Mike Sullivan, a former staffer for Representative Bergland and former-U.S. Senator/then-Vice President Walter Mondale, defeated former-U.S. Representative Coya Knutson and two other candidates for the DFL nomination. Arlan Stangeland, a farmer who was a delegate to the Republican State conventions from 1964 to 1968, and served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1966 to 1975, easily won the Independent-Republican nomination over Dick Franson, a perennial candidate who had run in various Republican primaries in Minnesota. During the special election campaign, Stangeland campaigned "on the theme that the heavily rural northwestern Minnesota needed another farmer, like Mr. Bergland, in Congress,""Minnesotans voting today on Bergland's House seat." Associated Press: 8 February 1977. and likely benefited from "his lifelong residence in the district, his roots as a farmer in a mostly rural area, and his identification as a Lutheran in an area that is predominantly Protestant."Naughton, James M. "Minnesota victory elates Republicans." New York Times: 24 February 1977. Sullivan, on the other hand, had relied on the support of establishment Democrats rather than making a grassroots outreach to the voters of the district, and was likely "handicapped by his Roman Catholic faith." Sullivan's religious affiliation particularly became a matter of controversy after bishop Victor Hermann Balke encouraged voters in the Diocese of Crookston to vote for Sullivan, whom he described as "very pro-church," and against Stangeland, whom he described as having a "very negative" voting record in the state house. In the end, Stangeland won the election with a landslide 71,251 votes to Sullivan's 43,467, taking the DFL and most outside observers, who expected that Bergland's broad support from three months earlier would translate into an easy victory for Sullivan, by surprise. Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary Candidates Declared F. E. "Fritz" Anderson Bill Kjeldahl, former chief of staff for Representative Coya Knutson. Coya Gjesdal Knutson, former United States Representative from Minnesota's 9th congressional district (1955–1959); first woman elected to Congress from Minnesota Mike Sullivan, former staffer for Representative Bob Bergland and Senator Walter Mondale Results Democratic special primary election resultshttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=414735 Our Campaigns - MN District 7 - Special DFL Primary Race - Feb 08, 1977 ourcampaigns.com October 23, 2017 Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Mike Sullivan 27,754 78.44% Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Coya Gjesdal Knutson 4,503 12.73% Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Bill Kjeldahl 2,819 7.97% Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party F. E. "Fritz" Anderson 305 0.86% 35,381 100.00% Independent-Republican primary Candidates Declared Richard "Dick" Franson, perennial candidate in various Republican primary elections throughout Minnesota Arlan Stangeland, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives (1966–1975) Results Republican special primary election resultshttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=414734 Our Campaigns - MN District 7 - Special R Primary Race - Feb 08, 1977 ourcampaigns.com October 23, 2017 Independent-Republican Party Arlan Stangeland 15,382 96.71% Independent-Republican Party Richard "Dick" Franson 524 3.29% 15,906 100.00% Special election Results Special election resultshttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=32184 Our Campaigns - MN District 07 - Special Election Race - Feb 22, 1977 ourcampaigns.com October 23, 2017 Independent-Republican Party Arlan Stangeland 71,340 57.58% Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Mike Sullivan 45,490 36.72% American Party (1969) James Born 6,105 4.93% Independent (United States) Jack Bilbeau 963 0.78% 123,898 100.00% See also List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives References Minnesota 1977 07 Minnesota 1977 07 1977 07 Special Minnesota 07 Special United States House of Representatives 07 Special United States House of Representatives 1977 07