1970 Minnesota gubernatorial election
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November 3, 1970
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 County results Anderson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Minnesota |
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The 1970 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1970. Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party(DFL) candidate Wendell Anderson defeated Republican challenger Douglas M. Head. Incumbent Harold LeVander was not seeking a second term.
Republican primary
Head was nominated.
Candidates
Nominated
- Douglas M. Head, Attorney General of Minnesota and former state representative from Minneapolis
Eliminated in Primary
- John C. Peterson, Duluth resident and perennial candidate
- Lorna Tarnowski, Chanhassen homemaker and candidate for governor in 1966
- Paul Moshier
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Douglas M. Head | 210,621 | 87.51% | |
| Republican | John C. Peterson | 19,737 | 8.20% | |
| Republican | Paul Moshier | 6,372 | 2.65% | |
| Republican | Lorna Tarnowski | 3,964 | 1.65% | |
| Total votes | 240,694 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary
Anderson was nominated unanimously.
Candidates
Nominated
- Wendell R. Anderson, state senator from St. Paul and 1956 Olympic silver medalist in ice hockey
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Wendell R. Anderson | 352,867 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 352,867 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Wendell R. Anderson, state senator from St. Paul and 1956 Olympic gold medalist in ice hockey (DFL)
- Douglas M. Head, Attorney General of Minnesota and former state representative from Minneapolis (Republican)
- Karl H. Heck, White Bear Lake resident (Industrial Government)
- Jack O. Kirkham, mayor of Fridley (write-in)
Campaigns
The largest issue of the election was tax policy. Anderson campaigned on implementing a progressive income tax, and shifting the funding for education from local taxes to statewide taxes to deal with inequality.[3] Head opposed Anderson's proposed school tax reforms, nicknaming him 'Spendy Wendy'.[4] Head used the nickname in his campaigns, selling bumper stickers that read '$top $pendy Wendy'.[5]
Debates
This was only the third gubernatorial debate in Minnesota history. The previous one was in 1960.
| No. | Date | Host | Republican | DFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn |
||||
| Douglas Head | Wendell Anderson | |||
| 1 | October 1, 1970 | Citizens League[3] | P | P |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Wendell Anderson | 737,921 | 54.04% | +7.10% | |
| Republican | Douglas M. Head | 621,780 | 45.54% | −7.02% | |
| Industrial Government | Karl Heck | 4,781 | 0.35% | −0.15% | |
| Independent | Jack O. Kirkham (write-in) | 961 | 0.07% | ||
| Majority | 117,102 | 8.51% | |||
| Turnout | 1,365,443 | ||||
| Democratic (DFL) gain from Republican | Swing | ||||
External links
References
- ↑ "Governor, 1970 Election". Minnesota Historical Election Archive.
- ↑ "Governor, 1970 Election". Minnesota Historical Election Archive.
- 1 2 Nathanson, Iric (October 27, 2010). "'Spendy Wendy' and the 1970 gubernatorial election". Minnpost.
- ↑ Nelson, Paul (April 22, 2024). "Minnesota Miracle (legislation)". Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS).
- ↑ "$top $pendy Wendy bumper sticker". Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS).
