Secretary of State, 1970 Election

Primary Democratic-Farmer-Labor

Date: September 15, 1970
Cycle: 1970
Office: Secretary of State
State: Minnesota
District: Statewide
Candidate Gender Party Votes Percent Margin
Daniel D. Donovan Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 163,439 42.71 +19.72
Elmer Childress Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 87,983 22.99
Robert W. (Bob) Mattson, Jr. Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 60,549 15.82
Charles Joseph (Charlie) Johnson Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 38,712 10.12
Richard Noonan Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 32,013 8.37

Secretary of State Joseph Donovan did not seek a seventh term, ending up third all time behind Republicans Mike Holm (16 terms) and Julius Schmahl (seven).

Daniel Donovan, no relation, was a St. Paul brewery worker, nominee for HD 37 in 1954, 1956, and 1958, nominee for HD 49 in 1962, and candidate for HD 44A in 1968.

Childress, a labor leader from Minneapolis, was the DFL-endorsed candidate and the first black candidate to be endorsed for a statewide office by a major party in Minnesota history.

Mattson, a recent graduate of Harvard University, would later get elected state Auditor (1975-1979) and state Treasurer (1983-1987). Mattson's father, Robert Mattson, Sr., served as Minnesota Attorney General (1964-1967).

Johnson was chairman of Concerned Citizens Committee and a resident of Wabasha. He was a Farmer-Labor candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1940, a Farmer-Labor nominee for Treasurer in 1942, and a DFL candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1944.

Noonan was a contractor from Edina and candidate for Secretary of State in 1974.

Sources

  • State of Minnesota Legislative Manual, 1971-1972 (p. 459).