Governor, 1912 Election

Primary Republican

Date: September 17, 1912
Cycle: 1912
Office: Governor
State: Minnesota
District: Statewide
Candidate Gender Party Votes Percent Margin
Adolph O. (A.O.) Eberhart Incumbent Man Republican 62,402 38.03 +13.31
William E. Lee Man Republican 40,571 24.73
Edward T. (E.T.) Young Man Republican 30,398 18.53
Lewis C. Spooner Man Republican 12,233 7.46
Samuel Y. (Sam) Gordon Man Republican 11,927 7.27
Martin F. Falk Man Republican 6,536 3.98

Second place vote totals: Young = 12,860; Lee = 12,136; Gordon = 7,115; Eberhart = 6,481; Spooner = 5,323; Falk = 3,186.

Governor Eberhart was renominated in the first Republican gubernatorial primary in Minnesota history.

Lee was a banker from Long Prairie and former state Representative (HD 39, 1885-1889; HD 46, 1893-1895) and House Speaker (1893-1895) who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for governor in 1896.

Young was an Appleton attorney, former state Representative (HD 37, 1889-1891; HD 43, 1893-1895) and state Senator (SD 43, 1895-1899; SD 56, 1899-1903), and former state Attorney General (1905-1909).

Spooner was an attorney from Morris and state Representative (HD 57, 1907-1915; HD 48, 1915-1917, 1923-1927).

Gordon was a publisher from Browns Valley and the sitting Lieutenant Governor.

Falk was a wholesale paper dealer from Duluth.

Sources

  • The Legislative Manual of the State of Minnesota, 1913 (p. 350-351).