The 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Republican incumbent Arne Carlson was term-limited and constitutionally ineligible to seek a third term in office. Reform Party candidate Jesse Ventura, the former mayor of Brooklyn Park and a former professional wrestler, won office, defeating Republican St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman and DFL state attorney general Skip Humphrey. He succeeded Republican incumbent Arne Carlson. Ventura's victory as a third-party candidate was considered a historic major upset.
As of 2026, the election marks the only time a Reform Party candidate won a major government office. It also remains the last time a third-party candidate won any statewide election in Minnesota. Ventura's vote share of 36.99% is the lowest for a Minnesota gubernatorial election winner since 1890.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Norm Coleman, mayor of St. Paul
- Running mate: Gen Olson, state senator from the 34th district
Eliminated in primary
- Bill Dahn, retired auto mechanic
Withdrawn
- Joanne Benson, lieutenant governor of Minnesota (endorsed Coleman)
- Dick Borrell, businessman
- Allen Quist, former state representative and 1994 candidate for governor (endorsed Coleman)
Results
Coleman won the Republican nomination by winning the primary with token opposition.
Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Skip Humphrey, Minnesota attorney general and son of former vice president Hubert Humphrey and former U.S. senator Muriel Humphrey
- Running mate: Roger Moe, Minnesota Senate majority leader from the 2nd district
Eliminated in primary
- Mark Dayton, Minnesota state auditor and son of businessman Bruce Dayton
- Running mate: Julie Jansen, day care provider and environmental activist
- Mike Freeman, Hennepin County attorney and son of former Governor Orville Freeman
- Running mate: Ruth Johnson, state representative (HD24B)
- Doug Johnson, state senator (SD6) from the Iron Range and Chair of the Senate Committee on Taxation
- Running mate: Tom Foley, former Ramsey County attorney and Washington County attorney
- Ted Mondale, former state senator from the 44th district and son of former vice president Walter Mondale
- Running mate: Deanna Winter, political reporter
- Ole Savior, perennial candidate
General election
Candidates
- Norm Coleman, mayor of St. Paul (Republican)
- Running mate: Gen Olson, state senator (Rep-SD34)
- Thomas Fiske (Socialist Workers)
- Frank Germann (Libertarian)
- Skip Humphrey, attorney general of Minnesota and son of former Vice President Hubert Humphrey and former U.S. Senator Muriel Humphrey (DFL)
- Running mate: Roger Moe, Minnesota Senate majority leader (SD2)
- "Fancy" Ray McCloney ("People's Champion")
- Ken Pentel (Green)
- Jesse Ventura, former mayor of Brooklyn Park and professional wrestler (Reform)
- Running mate: Mae Schunk, Inver Grove Heights teacher
- Chris Wright (Grassroots)
Ventura ran unopposed in his party's primary.
Campaign
Humphrey was seen as the initial favorite, having scored a $6 billion settlement with the tobacco industry in May of that year. The DFL primary saw candidates mostly focusing on issues, rather than attacking Humphrey. Humphrey had nearly lost the party's endorsement to Mike Freeman. The convention deadlock was broken when the labor caucus led by MAPE delegate David Schmidt, endorsed Skip Humphrey pushing him over the top. The primary was nicknamed the "My Three Sons" campaign, owing to the political pedigree of three of the candidates, Freeman, Mondale and Humphrey. and Mark Dayton, heir to the Dayton fortune. Humphrey was endorsed by the Star Tribune in the run up to November.
Coleman started as a strong challenger to Humphrey. Coleman received the Republican endorsement over more conservative candidates Allen Quist and Joanne Benson. Coleman ran as a social conservative, opposing abortion and gay marriage. He also campaigned on using the state's budget surplus to cut taxes, as well as expanding the state's school choice program to include school vouchers.
Ventura spent around $300,000 and combined it with an aggressive grassroots campaign that featured a statewide bus tour, pioneered use of the Internet for political purposes, and aired quirky TV ads designed by Bill Hillsman, who forged the phrase "Don't vote for politics as usual." Unable to afford many television ads, Ventura mainly focused on televised debates and public appearances, preaching his brand of libertarian politics. His speech at a parade in rural Minnesota during the summer attracted what organizers of the annual event described as one of its largest audiences. He ran on cutting taxes, reducing state government, and reducing public school classroom sizes to a 17 to 1 ratio. He also supported a public debate on the viability of legalized prostitution.
Polling
A poll taken in June showed that Coleman would defeat any other Democratic candidate than Humphrey; Humphrey would defeat Coleman 44% to 34%. However, Ventura polled in the double digits. No other candidate in the Reform Party's brief history in Minnesota has received more than 5 percent of the votes in a statewide election. Following the primary election in September, a poll on October 20 showed Humphrey leading 35% to Coleman (34%) and Ventura (21%). But the Star Tribune poll suggested that Ventura's surge with the voters had come mostly at Humphrey's expense. Since the primary, Humphrey's support among likely voters had dropped by 14 percentage points, while Coleman's had increased by 5 percentage points.
Results
By county
Source
Counties that flipped from Republican to Reform
- Benton
- Blue Earth
- Chisago
- Scott
- Dakota
- Goodhue
- Grant
- Isanti
- Kanabec
- Kandiyohi
- Le Sueur
- McLeod
- Meeker
- Mille Lacs
- Nicollet
- Pope
- Renville
- Sherburne
- Sibley
- Stearns
- Steele
- Wabasha
- Washington
- Watonwan
- Wright
- Aitkin
- Pine
- Rice
- Anoka
- Carver
- Yellow Medicine
- Chippewa
- Hennepin
- Ramsey
- Swift
- Faribault
- Waseca
- Dodge
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Big Stone
- Cook
- Clay
- Itasca
- Kittson
- Lac qui Parle
- Lake of the Woods
- Lincoln
- Marshall
- Mower
- Norman
- Pennington
- Polk
- Red Lake