Railroad & Warehouse Commissioner, 1922 Election

General

Date: November 7, 1922
Cycle: 1922
Office: Railroad & Warehouse Commissioner
State: Minnesota
District: Statewide
Candidate Gender Party Votes Percent Margin
Ivan Bowen Incumbent Man Republican 290,084 45.62 +3.04
William (W.W.) Royster Man Farmer-Labor 270,752 42.58
William J. North Man Democrat 75,027 11.80

The election for this seat was for a six-year term.

This was the first single-seat election to the Railroad and Warehouse Commission decided by single digits and the second most competitive race in state history (1932, 2.80 points).

Bowen, an attorney from Mankato, was appointed by Governor J.A.O. Preus to fill the vacancy after the death of Commissioner Ira Mills on May 3, 1921. Bowen resigned on January 1, 1928 to practice law in Minneapolis. Governor Theodore Christianson appointed Mankato attorney Christian J. Laurisch to fill the vacancy.

Royster was a locomotive engineer from Glenwood and the Farmer-Labor candidate for Governor in 1924.

North was an attorney from St. Paul and former state Representative (HD 57, 1915-1917).

Sources

  • The Legislative Manual of the State of Minnesota, 1923 (Abstract of Votes Polled for State Officers By Counties).