1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election

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 Precinct results Ventura:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Coleman:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Humphrey:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Other:      40–50%      60–70% Tie:      30–40%      40–50%      50%      No votes

Governor before election Arne Carlson Republican Elected Governor Jesse Ventura Reform

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v t e

The 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Reform Party candidate Jesse Ventura defeated Republican Party challenger Norm Coleman and Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party challenger Hubert H. "Skip" Humphrey III. Ventura governed with a DFL-controlled state Senate and a Republican-controlled state House. As of 2024, this is the only time that a Reform Party candidate has been elected to statewide office.

Ventura's victory as a third-party candidate was considered a historic major upset. He ran on the Reform Party ticket, a party which had been founded by two-time presidential candidate Ross Perot who had received 24% of the vote in Minnesota in the 1992 presidential election and 12% in the 1996 election.^[1]