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Minnesota gubernatorial election, 1994
November 8, 1994
	Incumbent Governor; Arne Carlson; Republican Governor-elect; Arne Carlson; Republican

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The 1994 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994. Republican Party of Minnesota candidate Arne Carlson defeated Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party challenger John Marty.

[edit] Results

1994 Gubernatorial Election, Minnesota
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Indep.-Republican	Arne Carlson	1,094,165	63.34%	+13.24%
	DFL	John Marty	589,344	34.12%	-12.65%
	Grassroots	Will Shetterly	20,785	1.20%	+0.24%
	Libertarian	Eric Olson	15,467	0.90%	n/a
	Nutritional Rights	Leslie Davis	4,611	0.27%	n/a
	Socialist Workers	Jon Hillson	3,022	0.17%	n/a
Majority			504,821	29.22%
Turnout			1,727,394
	Indep.-Republican hold		Swing

[edit] Candidates

[edit] General election

Arne Carlson (R) - Incumbent Governor, former State Auditor. Failed to earn his party's endorsement, but won the right to be on the ballot after winning in the primary.
John Marty (DFL) - Minnesota State Senator and son of theologian Martin Marty. Won his party's endorsement, and won a narrow victory in his state primary.
Will Shetterly (Grassroots) - Fantasy and comic book writer. Won his party's endorsement.
Eric Olson (L)
Leslie Davis (Nutritional Rights) - Perennial candidate and local activist.
John Hillson (SWP)

[edit] Former candidates

Allen Quist (R) - Staunchly conservative former State Representative, Quist won the endorsement of the Republican Party over incumbent Carlson, who was seen as too liberal. Ran with Hamline University professor Doug McFarland. Lost in the primary election.

Mike Hatch (DFL) - Former Commerce Commissioner, Hatch had unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Gov. Rudy Perpich in 1990.
Tony Bouza (DFL) - Former Minneapolis Chief of Police.

[edit] Election campaign

[edit] Endorsement and primary

While incumbent Gov. Arne Carlson was popular in the state, he was not popular with rank-and-file Republicans, who viewed his victory in 1990 as an accident. Carlson, who was pro-choice and in favor of extending civil rights to homosexuals, was seen as too moderate by delegates to the GOP state convention, who ultimately chose former State Rep. Allen Quist, a staunch conservative, as their nominee. Ultimately, though, Carlson easily defeated Quist in the state primary, putting him on the ballot for November.

At the DFL convention, Marty received the party endorsement, but faced a strong challenge from former Minneapolis Chief of Police Tony Bouza. Bouza faded, however, when it was revealed that he supported severe restrictions on handguns. Marty ultimately won a narrow victory in the primary over former Commerce Commissioner Mike Hatch, who lost his second consecutive gubernatorial primary.

[edit] General election

After the primary, the general election was anticlimactic. With Carlson generally liked by most Minnesotans and with a national Republican wave cresting, he easily won victory over Marty, who ran a steadfast, positive, and ultimately futile campaign. Marty lost by over 400,000 votes out of 1.7 million cast, an historic landslide defeat.^[1]