Jesse "The Body" Ventura Wins Minnesota Governorship

Dan Matza-Brown

 

SUMMARY

On November 3, 1998, former professional wrestler Jesse "The Body" Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota, becoming the Reform Party's highest elected official. Ventura's running mate was Mae Schunk, a teacher of 36 years. He defeated Republican Norm Coleman, mayor of St. Paul, and Democrat Hubert ("Skip") Humphrey III, the state attorney general.
 

September 15 primary results:

Candidate Name (Party)                Votes Cast    % Of Votes
Hubert "Skip" H. Humphrey III (D)     154,037          28.0
Norm Coleman (R)                      107,989          19.6
Jesse Ventura (REF)                   14,960            2.7
 

November 3 election results:

PARTY CANDIDATE NAME                  VOTES CAST   % OF VOTES
RP      JESSE VENTURA AND MAE SCHUNK     773713        37.0
R         NORM COLEMAN AND GEN OLSON     717350        34.3
DFL   HUBERT H "SKIP" HUMPHREY III A     587528        28.1
LIB   FRANK GERMANN AND MICHAEL C. S       1932         0.1
GRP    CHRIS WRIGHT AND D.G. PAULSEN       1727         0.1
SWP    THOMAS FISKE AND JOHN HAWKINS        787         0.0
TPC   FANCY RAY MCCLONEY AND (MOM) T        919         0.0
GPM      KEN PENTEL AND SUSAN JASPER       7034         0.3
NP                          WRITE IN        776         0.0
 

Minnesota's election-day turnout was 61%, the highest in the nation. Many attribute this to Ventura's appeal to the younger Minnesota voters. A large  number of people registered to vote on Election Day, resulting in an unexpectedly high turnout.
 
 
 
 

TIMELINE

1984 Ventura retires from professional wrestling. 
November 1990 Ventura is elected mayor of Brooklyn Park, the sixth largest city in Minnesota.
November 1992 24% of Minnesota voters cast ballots for Reform Party presidential candidate Ross Perot, helping establish the party's political presence.
September 15, 1998 Hubert Humphrey and Norm Coleman respectively win the Democratic and Republican nominations in Minnesota's race for governor.
October 31, 1998 A poll in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune shows Ventura with 21% of the vote, double his support from the previous month. Humphrey and Coleman each command 35% of the poll's responses.
November 3, 1998 Ventura is elected governor of Minnesota.
January 5, 1999 Ventura is sworn into office, replacing outgoing Republican Arne Carlson.
August 1999 Ventura's approval rating drops from 73% to 54% after Playboy publishes a controversial interview with him. In the interview, Ventura says that religion is for "weak-minded people," that the Navy's Tailhook sexaul harassment scandal was "much ado about nothing," and that he would like to be reincarnated as a woman's brassiere.
February 11, 2000 Ventura leaves the Reform Party. He urges the Minnesota state party to rename itself the Independence Party, and to cut its ties with Perot's Reform Party. This is primarily in response to the speculation that Pat Buchanan might receive the Reform Party presidential nomination.
June 30, 2000 The St. Augusta township becomes the city of Ventura, named after Governor Ventura.

 
 
 

PEOPLE & ORGANIZATIONS

Jesse Ventura, Minnesota's governor. Ventura's real name is James George Janos.

Mae Schunk, Ventura's running mate, Minnesota's lieutenant governor

The Reform Party

The Independence Party

The World Wrestling Federation (WWF)