This special election was for the remainder of a six-year term ending in January 1957.
Rasmussen was a resident of Moorhead, former state Budget Commissioner under Governor Floyd Olson, Farmer-Labor nominee for Secretary of State in 1938 and candidate for Governor in 1942, DFL nominee for Railroad and Warehouse Commissioner in 1946, and DFL nominee for state Treasurer in 1950.
Lund was a resident of Minneapolis, real estate salesman, former Minneapolis Alderman, candidate for Railroad and Warehouse Commissioner in 1942, and candidate for the 3rd CD in 1946.