Governor, 1936 Election
General
| Candidate | Gender | Party | Votes | Percent | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmer A. Benson | Man | Farmer-Labor | 680,342 | 60.74 | +22.18 |
| Martin A. Nelson | Man | Republican | 431,841 | 38.55 | |
| Earl Stewart | Man | Industrial | 7,996 | 0.71 |
Democrats did not field a candidate marking this as the only gubernatorial election in Minnesota history in which one of the two major parties did not field a nominee in the general election.
Farmer-Laborite Lieutenant Governor Hjalmar Petersen took office two months following the 1936 primary after Governor Floyd Olson passed away on August 22, 1936 having already won the party’s nomination for Railroad and Warehouse Commissioner. Benson was a banker and businessman from Appleton, former state commissioner of Securities (1933), former state Commissioner of Banks (1933-1935), and a sitting U.S. Senator (1935-1936).
Nelson was an attorney from Austin and 1934 GOP gubernatorial nominee who would later become a state court district judge and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice (1953-1972).
Stewart was a resident of St. Paul and was nominated by petition.
Sources
- The Legislative Manual of the State of Minnesota, 1937 (Abstract of Votes Polled for State Officers By Counties).