View source for Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party

{{Short description|Former American political party (1918–1944)}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Farmer–Labor Party of Minnesota
| logo             = File:Farmer-Labor Party Ballot logo.jpg
| leader           = 
| foundation       = {{start date|1918}}
| dissolution      = {{end date|1944}}
| headquarter      = 
| ideology         = ''[[Co-operative economics#Co-operative commonwealth|Co-operative commonwealth]]''{{refn|<ref>{{cite web |last=O’Connell |first=Tom |title=Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, 1924–1944 |url=https://www.mnopedia.org/minnesota-farmer-labor-party-1924-1944 |website=mnopedia.org |location=Minnesota |publisher=MNOPEDIA |access-date=2025-02-26 |quote=With protest by workers, farmers, and the unemployed rising, the Farmer-Labor convention adopts its Cooperative Commonwealth Platform, outlining a new economic system to replace monopoly capitalism.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=O’Connell |first=Tom |date=2018-09-06 |title=Minnesota Farmer-Laborism: One hundred years old |url=https://southsidepride.com/2018/09/06/minnesota-farmer-laborism-one-hundred-years-old/ |publisher=Southside Pride |access-date=2025-04-21 |quote=At its heart was a belief in a “cooperative commonwealth,”}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=J. Lee |first=Anders |date=2023-03-27 |title=How Hubert H. Humphrey Purged the DFL of Socialists |url=https://racketmn.com/how-hubert-h-humphrey-purged-the-dfl-of-socialists |website=Racketmn.com |location=Minnesota |publisher=The Racket |access-date=2025-04-21 |quote=That would likely be cold comfort to the original Farmer-Laborers and their vision for a “cooperative commonwealth.”}}</ref>}}<br>[[Left-wing populism]]<ref>'''Attributed to multiple sources:'''{{bulleted list|
* {{cite book |last1=Hudelson |first1=Richard |last2=Ross |first2=Carl |publication-date=2006 |title=By the ore docks : a working people's history of Duluth. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F865CRqof1oC |location=Minnesota |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-9760-1 |oclc=320324829 |access-date=2025-02-26}}
* {{cite web |last=Callaghan |first=Peter |date=2019-09-18 |title=As the DFL marks its 75th anniversary, do the party's Farmer-Labor roots still mean anything? |url=https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2019/09/as-the-dfl-marks-its-75th-anniversary-do-the-partys-farmer-labor-roots-still-mean-anything/ |website=minnpost.com |location=Minnesota |publisher=MinnPost |access-date=2025-02-26 |quote=Though the state’s dominant political force at the time was the Republican Party, the populist Farmer-Labor Party had managed to do better than the Democrats… But the Farmer-Labor party wasn’t formed to represent agricultural interests or rural interests. Rather, it was founded as a populist party with a socialist flavor, one that grew out of the Nonpartisan League, an effort by small farmers to fight the power of the grain conglomerates and the railroads, wrote Augsburg University professor Michael J. Lansing in his history of the movement, “Insurgent Democracy.”}}
* {{cite web |last=O’Connell |first=Tom |title=Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, 1924–1944 |url=https://www.mnopedia.org/minnesota-farmer-labor-party-1924-1944 |website=mnopedia.org |location=Minnesota |publisher=MNOPEDIA |access-date=2025-02-26 |quote=The FLP movement continues to influence Minnesota politics. Its progressive populism led to the liberalism of such DFL leaders as Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Eugene McCarthy.}}
* {{cite web |date=2024-11-05 |title=La Follette lost 100 years ago, but his progressivism lives on |url= https://captimes.com/opinion/john-nichols/opinion-la-follette-lost-100-years-ago-but-his-progressivism-lives-on/article_55c93ca6-9ad6-11ef-9677-73580077e957.html |access-date=2025-01-14 |publisher=The Cap Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211211147/https://captimes.com/opinion/john-nichols/opinion-la-follette-lost-100-years-ago-but-his-progressivism-lives-on/article_55c93ca6-9ad6-11ef-9677-73580077e957.html |archive-date=11 December 2024 |language=en-US |quote= In fact, the program that La Follette ran on — taxing the rich, cracking down on Wall Street abuses, empowering workers to organize unions, defending small farmers, breaking up corporate trusts, strengthening public utilities — fueled a resurgence of left-wing populist movements across the upper Midwest: the Non-Partisan League of North Dakota, the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota and the Progressive Party of Wisconsin.}}
* {{cite web |last=Greeley |first=Patrick |date=2024-11-11 |title=The Rise and Fall of Midwest Populism |url=https://jacobin.com/2024/11/minnesota-dfl-midwest-populism-walz |website=Jacobin.com |publisher=Jacobin |access-date=2025-03-21 |quote=The story of Minnesota’s Farmer-Labor Party in the early 20th century is instructive for the Left, especially in light of this week’s election results… The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) is one of only two state-level parties affiliated nationally with the Democratic Party to use a unique name. The other is the North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League Party. These two parties actually share a common history, and this history explains the reasons for the distinction. Now, decades later, these names are all that remains of that history and of the populist movement that once flourished in the upper Midwest… As the party merged into the Democratic machine, its populist energies were chewed up and spat out. As the DFL’s star ascended, the populist elements that had made up the Farmer-Labor Party became a distant memory.}}
* {{cite web |last=Savicki |first=Drew |date=2020-08-10 |title=The Road to 270: Minnesota |url=https://www.270towin.com/news/2020/08/10/the-road-270-minnesota_1080.html |website=270towin.com |location=Minnesota |access-date=2025-04-16 |quote=In the 1920s, members of the national left-wing populist movement called the Nonpartisan League stood for election under a new banner, the Farmer Labor Party.}}
* {{cite web |last=Paxton |first=Gabriel |date=2024-09-26 |title=Who is Tim Walz? Understanding the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party can help make sense of the VP candidate |url=https://theconversation.com/who-is-tim-walz-understanding-the-minnesota-democratic-farmer-labor-party-can-help-make-sense-of-the-vp-candidate-239027 |website=Theconversation.com |publisher=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |quote=Like Walz, this movement took a populist stance against political and economic elites. This Farmer-Labor tradition, in many ways, is a foil to the conservative-populism that is popular today. Unlike Trump’s appeal to middle America, this Minnesota brand of populism was not an attempt to save white Christian manhood. Instead, it was a genuine recognition that working people – especially those in middle America – needed to actively push back against economic inequality and forces that threatened the middle class. |access-date=2025-02-26}}
}}</ref><br>[[Progressivism in the United States|Progressivism]]{{refn|<ref>{{cite web |last=O’Connell |first=Tom |title=Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, 1924–1944 |url=https://www.mnopedia.org/minnesota-farmer-labor-party-1924-1944 |website=mnopedia.org |location=Minnesota |publisher=MNOPEDIA |access-date=2025-02-26 |quote=Minnesota's Farmer-Labor Party (FLP) represents one of the most successful progressive third-party coalitions in American history.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2023 |title=FARMER-LABOR EDUCATION COMMITTEE |url=https://farmerlaboreducation.com/documentary |website=farmerlaboreducation.com |location=Minnesota |publisher=FARMER-LABOR EDUCATION COMMITTEE |access-date=2025-02-26 |quote=The Farmer-Labor movement founded the most successful third party in U.S. political history. This progressive movement elected candidates and advanced political change in Minnesota from 1917 until it merged with the Democrats in 1944, to form the DFL, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ABOUT FARMER-LABOR MOVEMENT: A MINNESOTA STORY |url=https://www.tpt.org/farmer-labor-movement-a-minnesota-story/ |website= |location=Minnesota |publisher=Twin Cities PBS |access-date=2025-02-26 |quote=Documentary about the history of the progressive Farmer-Labor movement in Minnesota from 1915 to 1944, when the party merged with the Democrats to form the DFL, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Dreier |first=Peter |date=2011-04-11 |title=La Follette's Wisconsin Idea |url=https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/la-follettes-wisconsin-idea/ |magazine=Dissent |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |access-date=2025-04-16 |quote=Though he died of a heart attack less than a year after the election, La Follette’s success inspired other progressive movements and campaigns around the country, including farmer-labor parties in Minnesota and North Dakota, the Progressive Party in Wisconsin, and the American Labor Party in New York City.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Staff Writer |date=2016-10-29 |title=Answer Man: Historic hotel has link to White House run |url=https://apnews.com/article/business-5f37503cb8bf435c9ef27f1ee6860a7b |website=Apnews.com |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=2025-04-28 |quote=The Farmer-Labor Party was the progressive, some would say radical party that was founded as a national organization in 1920 and dissolved in 1936.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Paxton |first=Gabriel |date=2024-09-26 |title=Who is Tim Walz? Understanding the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party can help make sense of the VP candidate |url=https://theconversation.com/who-is-tim-walz-understanding-the-minnesota-democratic-farmer-labor-party-can-help-make-sense-of-the-vp-candidate-239027 |website=Theconversation.com |publisher=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |quote=For most of the 1920s and 1930s, Farmer-Labor challenged the Democratic Party with its more progressive ideas. |access-date=2025-02-26}}</ref>}}<br>[[Social democracy]]{{refn|<ref>{{Cite book |title=Social democracy after the cold war |date=2012 |publisher=AU Press |editor1-last=Evans |editor1-first=Bryan |editor2-last=Schmidt |editor2-first=Ingo |isbn=978-1-926836-88-1 |location=Edmonton |oclc=1015535562 |page=103 |quote=In addition, some notable examples of social democratic third-party success at the subnational level are the Socialist Party in Oklahoma in the 1920s and 1930s, the Non-Partisan League in North Dakota, the Washington Co-operative Commonwealth in Washington State, the '''Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party''', and the current Vermont Progressive Party, which has relationship with the Democratic Party.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Stec |first=Andy |date=2018-12-06 |title=A new Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party |url=https://hamlineoracle.com/5914/opinion/a-new-democratic-farmer-labor-party/ |website=hamlineoracle.com |publisher=The Oracle |access-date=2025-05-06 |quote=Out of Duluth the social democratic Farmer-Labor Party had emerged in 1918 with the express purpose of uniting rural farmers with urban laborers as an oppressed class under the thumb of business and industry elites.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Erlandson |first=Henry |date=2020-01-25 |title=Why is Minnesota's Democratic Party called the DFL? |url=https://www2.startribune.com/why-is-minnesota-s-democratic-party-called-the-dfl/565228002/ |website=Startribune.com |location=Minnesota, US |publisher=Star Tribune |access-date=2025-03-21 |quote=However, poor economic conditions for farmers and workers led to the emergence of the Farmer-Labor Party in 1918, one of many parties with socialist influences in the United States.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Callaghan |first=Peter |date=2019-09-18 |title=As the DFL marks its 75th anniversary, do the party's Farmer-Labor roots still mean anything? |url=https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2019/09/as-the-dfl-marks-its-75th-anniversary-do-the-partys-farmer-labor-roots-still-mean-anything/ |website=minnpost.com |location=Minnesota |publisher=MinnPost |access-date=2025-02-26 |quote=But the Farmer-Labor party wasn’t formed to represent agricultural interests or rural interests. Rather, it was founded as a populist party with a socialist flavor, one that grew out of the Nonpartisan League, an effort by small farmers to fight the power of the grain conglomerates and the railroads, wrote Augsburg University professor Michael J. Lansing in his history of the movement, “Insurgent Democracy.”}}</ref>}}<br>[[Laborism]]{{refn|<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Mucaj |first=Rudin |date=May 2022 |title=THE GOSPEL OF LABOR: HOW EVANGELICALISM SHAPED IMMIGRANT WORKERS' UNIONISM, AND BECAME THE FOUNDATION OF THE MINNESOTA FARMER-LABOR PARTY, 1800 TO 1917. |url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=kent1650277902148756&disposition=inline |degree=Master of Arts |location=Ohio, US |publisher=Kent State University |access-date=2025-05-06 |quote=Even fewer scholars have looked into the history of laborism in the Midwest and the Minnesota Farmer Labor Party, the most successful labor union movement that still exists to this day as the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, or simply the Minnesota Democratic Party.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Greeley |first=Patrick |date=2024-11-11 |title=The Rise and Fall of Midwest Populism |url=https://jacobin.com/2024/11/minnesota-dfl-midwest-populism-walz |website=Jacobin.com |publisher=Jacobin |access-date=2025-03-21 |quote=The FLP carried on the NPL’s mission while adding labor union protection to its platform, creating a broad, working-class movement statewide.}}</ref>}}<br>[[Anti-capitalism]]<ref>{{cite journal |last=Starr |first=Joseph R. |date=June 1936 |title=Labor and Farmer Groups and Three-Party System |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42879310 |journal=The Southwestern Social Science Quarterly |volume=17 |issue=1 |publisher=[[JSTOR]] |pages=15 |jstor=42879310 |access-date=2025-04-21}}</ref><br>'''Factions''':<br>[[Socialism]]{{refn|<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lubotina |first1=Paul |date=2016 |title=The Minnesota Farm-Labor Party: The Role of Third Parties in the Americanization of European Labor Radicals in the Great Lakes Region Region |url=https://commons.nmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=upper_country |journal=Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region |volume=4 |issue=2 |publisher=Northern Michigan University's Center for Upper Peninsula Studies |pages=33 |access-date=2025-02-28 |quote=However, the cooperation alienated some of the more radical elements in the coalition, such as the Socialists.}}</ref><ref name= Ebsco>{{cite web |last=Wright |first=Scott |date=2022 |title=Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota |url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/farmer-labor-party-minnesota |website=Ebsco.com |publisher=[[EBSCO Information Services|Ebsco]] |access-date=2025-04-21 |quote=The Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota was established in 1918 as a coalition of farmers and workers advocating for moderate political and economic reforms, alongside more radical elements like socialists and isolationists.}}</ref><ref name=Walz>{{cite web |last=Paxton |first=Gabriel |date=2024-09-26 |title=Who is Tim Walz? Understanding the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party can help make sense of the VP candidate |url=https://theconversation.com/who-is-tim-walz-understanding-the-minnesota-democratic-farmer-labor-party-can-help-make-sense-of-the-vp-candidate-239027 |website=Theconversation.com |publisher=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |quote=The Farmer-Labor Party was ideologically diverse – sometimes to a fault – and brought together a range of activists, even socialists, under the common goal of protecting working people. |access-date=2025-02-26}}</ref>}}<br>[[United States non-interventionism#Isolationism between the World Wars|Isolationism]]<ref name= Ebsco /><br>[[Communism]] (From 1936){{refn|<ref>{{cite journal |last=Youngdale |first=James M. |date=1986 |title=Populism, Democracy and Paradigm Shift |url=https://rauli.cbs.dk/index.php/assc/article/download/1189/1190/4043 |journal=American Studies in Scandinavia  |volume=18 |pages=42 |access-date=2025-03-21 |quote=By and large, neither faction among the Finns became involved with the Nonpartisan Leagues or the forming Farmer-Labor Party until the Popular Front period beginning in 1936. At this time, the communists began to play an active role in Farmer-Labor politics and in the election of John Bernard to Congress, who won immediate fame for his lone vote against the Neutrality Act of 1937, an act which hamstrung aid to Republican Spain to the advantage of Francisco Franco.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Delton |first=Jennifer Alice |date=2002 |title=Making Minnesota Liberal: Civil Rights and the Transformation of the Democratic Party |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aH_6euMaLtkC |location=MN |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |page=9 |isbn=0816639221 |access-date=2025-05-14 |quote=Real communists, however, Communist party-type communists, were a fact of life in 1930s politics. Olson dealt with them as other labor leaders had; that is, he allowed them into the party as part of the “Popular Front” against fascism, and used their organizational skills and zealotry to further his own agenda.}}</ref>}}
| position         = [[Left wing politics|Left-wing]]<ref>{{bulleted list|
* {{cite web |last=O’Connell |first=Tom |title=Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, 1924–1944 |url=https://www.mnopedia.org/minnesota-farmer-labor-party-1924-1944 |website=mnopedia.org |location=Minnesota |publisher=MNOPEDIA |access-date=2025-02-26 |quote=The FLP developed a political viewpoint that was to the left of both the New Deal of the 1930s and the Democratic Party of the early 2000s.}}
* {{cite journal |last=Youngdale |first=James M. |date=1986 |title=Populism, Democracy and Paradigm Shift |url=https://rauli.cbs.dk/index.php/assc/article/download/1189/1190/4043 |journal=American Studies in Scandinavia  |volume=18 |pages=42 |access-date=2025-03-21 |quote=[…], but still radicalism remained implicit in their planks as they gravitated toward being a left wing of the New Deal.}}
* {{cite web |last=Greeley |first=Patrick |date=2024-11-11 |title=The Rise and Fall of Midwest Populism |url=https://jacobin.com/2024/11/minnesota-dfl-midwest-populism-walz |website=Jacobin.com |publisher=Jacobin |access-date=2025-04-15 |quote=Leaders reasoned that it made little sense for two left-leaning minority parties to continue struggling with one another with little chance of overcoming their Republican opponents in the near term.}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Haala |first=Cory |date=2020 |title=The Progressive Center: Midwestern Liberalism in the Age of Reagan, 1978-1992 |url=https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/928/ |degree=Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) |location=Wisconsin |publisher=Marquette University |access-date=2025-04-16 |quote=In the majority of these states, during either the 1890s or interwar years, left-wing third-party movements—the Populist Party, Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, North Dakota Nonpartisan League, and Wisconsin Progressive Party}}
* {{cite web |last=Maisano |first=Chris |date=2020-06-12 |title=Labor Party in the USA |url=https://jacobin.com/2020/06/labor-party-in-the-usa-workers-party-history |website=Jacobin.com |publisher=Jacobin |access-date=2025-04-28}}
}}</ref>
| national         = None {{small|(1918–1919)}}<br />[[Labor Party of the United States]] {{small|(1919–1920)}}<br />[[Farmer–Labor Party of the United States]] {{small|(1920–1923)}}<br />[[Federated Farmer–Labor Party]] {{small|(1923–1924)}}<br />[[Farmer–Labor Party of the United States]] {{small|(1924–1936)}}<br />None {{small|(1936–1944)}}
| merger           = [[Nonpartisan League]]{{refn|<ref>{{cite web |last=Greeley |first=Patrick |date=2024-11-11 |title=The Rise and Fall of Midwest Populism |url=https://jacobin.com/2024/11/minnesota-dfl-midwest-populism-walz |website=Jacobin.com |publisher=Jacobin |access-date=2025-04-15 |quote=However, in 1918, the NPL expanded into neighboring Minnesota, where it joined forces with city worker-focused groups to form the Farmer-Labor Party (FLP).}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Savicki |first=Drew |date=2020-08-10 |title=The Road to 270: Minnesota |url=https://www.270towin.com/news/2020/08/10/the-road-270-minnesota_1080.html |website=270towin.com |location=Minnesota |access-date=2025-04-16 |quote=In the 1920s, members of the national left-wing populist movement called the Nonpartisan League stood for election under a new banner, the Farmer Labor Party.}}</ref>}}<br>[[Duluth Union Labor Party]]
| successor        = [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]]{{refn|<ref name=Commitee>{{cite web |date=2023 |title=FARMER-LABOR EDUCATION COMMITTEE |url=https://farmerlaboreducation.com/documentary |website=farmerlaboreducation.com |location=Minnesota |publisher=FARMER-LABOR EDUCATION COMMITTEE |access-date=2025-02-26 |quote=The Farmer-Labor movement founded the most successful third party in U.S. political history. This progressive movement elected candidates and advanced political change in Minnesota from 1917 until it merged with the Democrats in 1944, to form the DFL, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.}}</ref><ref name=TBT>{{cite web |title=ABOUT FARMER-LABOR MOVEMENT: A MINNESOTA STORY |url=https://www.tpt.org/farmer-labor-movement-a-minnesota-story/ |website= |location=Minnesota |publisher=Twin Cities PBS |access-date=2025-02-26 |quote=Documentary about the history of the progressive Farmer-Labor movement in Minnesota from 1915 to 1944, when the party merged with the Democrats to form the DFL, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Staff Writer |date=2016-10-29 |title=Answer Man: Historic hotel has link to White House run |url=https://apnews.com/article/business-5f37503cb8bf435c9ef27f1ee6860a7b |website=Apnews.com |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=2025-04-28 |quote=In Minnesota, the Farmer-Labor Party joined forces with the Democratic Party to form the DFL in 1944.}}</ref>}}
| colorcode        = {{party color|Farmer–Labor Party}}
| country          = the United States
}}
The '''Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party''' ('''FLP'''), officially known as the '''Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota''',<ref>{{Cite web |title=FLA 1934 Platform |url=http://cooperativecommonwealth.org/FLA%201934%20Platform.html |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=cooperativecommonwealth.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota {{!}} EBSCO Research Starters |url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/farmer-labor-party-minnesota |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=www.ebsco.com |language=en}}</ref> was a [[left-wing]] [[United States|American]] [[political party]] in [[Minnesota]] between 1918 and 1944. The FLP largely dominated Minnesota politics during the [[Great Depression]]. It was one of the most successful statewide [[Third party (United States)|third party movements in United States history]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Rise and Fall of Midwest Populism |url=https://jacobin.com/2024/11/minnesota-dfl-midwest-populism-walz |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=jacobin.com |language=en-US}}</ref> and the longest-lasting and most fruitful affiliate of the national [[Farmer–Labor Party (United States)|Farmer–Labor movement]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Labor Party in the USA |url=https://jacobin.com/2020/06/labor-party-in-the-usa-workers-party-history |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=jacobin.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-10-29 |title=Answer Man: Historic hotel has link to White House run |url=https://apnews.com/article/business-5f37503cb8bf435c9ef27f1ee6860a7b |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> At its height in the 1920s and 1930s, FLP members included [[List of governors of Minnesota|three Minnesota governors]], [[List of United States senators from Minnesota|four United States senators]], [[List of United States representatives from Minnesota|eight United States representatives]] and a [[Political party strength in Minnesota|majority]] in the [[Minnesota legislature]].

In 1944, [[Hubert H. Humphrey]] and [[Elmer Benson]] worked to merge the party with [[Minnesota Democratic Party|the state's Democratic Party]], forming the contemporary [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]].<ref>{{cite web| title =Farmer Labor Party| publisher =Spartacus| url =http://www.spartacus-educational.com/USAfarmerlabor.htm| access-date =2007-08-31}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party political banner.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party political banner atop a car {{circa}} 1925]] The Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party emerged from the [[Non-Partisan League]] (NPL), which had expanded from [[North Dakota]] into Minnesota in 1918,<ref name=Hudelson2006 /> and the [[Union Labor Party of Duluth|Union Labor Party]] (ULP) of [[Duluth, Minnesota]], which was founded in February 1918.<ref name=Hudelson2006 /> In 1919, the NPL reorganized as the Working People's Non-Partisan League (WPNPL). In February 1920, the ULP joined the WPNPL.

The FLP ran on a platform of [[farmer]] and [[labor union]] protection, government ownership of certain industries, and [[social security|social security laws]].<ref name=Hudelson2006>{{cite book |last1=Hudelson |first1=Richard |last2=Ross |first2=Carl |title=By the Ore Docks: A Working People's History of Duluth |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |date=2006 |isbn=0-8166-4636-8 |pages=143–150}}</ref>

In 1936, the FLP was informally allied with the [[New Deal coalition]] and supported the reelection of President Franklin Roosevelt.<ref>William E. Leuchtenburg, ''Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1940'' (1963) p. 190.</ref> Roosevelt was building a national coalition and wanted a solid base in Minnesota, where the Democrats were a weak third party.<ref>James S. Olson, ed. ''Historical Dictionary of the New Deal'' (1985) pp 164-165.</ref> Roosevelt had a deal with Governor Olson whereby the FLP would get federal patronage, and in turn the FLP would work to block a third-party ticket against Roosevelt in 1936.<ref>Clifford Edward Clark, ed. ''Minnesota in a Century of Change: The State and its People since 1900'' (1989). pp 375–379.</ref>

One of the primary obstacles of the party, besides constant vilification on the pages of local and state newspapers, was the difficulty of uniting the party's divergent base and maintaining political union between rural farmers and urban laborers who often had little in common other than the [[populism|populist]] perception that they were an oppressed class of hardworking producers exploited by a small elite. A powerful pro-Communist element wanted fusion during World War II to ensure solidarity between the USSR and the USA, as partners against the Nazis.<ref>Arnold A. Offner, ''Hubert Humphrey: The Conscience of the Country'' (Yale University Press, 2018) pp. 25, 40–43.</ref>

According to political scientist George Mayer:<ref>George H. Mayer, ''The Political Career of Floyd B. Olson'', (Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1987) 86-87.</ref>
<blockquote>The farmer approached problems as a proprietor or petty capitalist. Relief to him meant a mitigation of conditions that interfered with successful farming. It involved such things as tax reduction, easier access to credit, and a floor under farm prices. His individualist psychology did not create scruples against government aid, but he welcomed it only as long as it improved agricultural conditions. When official paternalism took the form of public works or the dole, he openly opposed it because assistance on such terms forced him to abandon his chosen profession, to submerge his individuality in the labor crew, and to suffer the humiliation of the bread line. Besides, a public works program required increased revenue, and since the state relied heavily on the property tax, the cost of the program seemed likely to fall primarily on him.<br><br>

At the opposite end of the seesaw sat the city worker, who sought relief from the hunger, exposure, and disease that followed the wake of unemployment. Dependent on an impersonal industrial machine, he had sloughed off the frontier tradition of individualism for the more serviceable doctrine of cooperation through trade unionism. Unlike the depressed farmer, the unemployed worker often had no property or economic stake to protect. He was largely immune to taxation and had nothing to lose by backing proposals to dilute property rights or redistribute the wealth. Driven by the primitive instinct to survive, the worker demanded financial relief measures from the state. </blockquote>

The New Deal farm programs made the [[American Farm Bureau Federation]] the main organization for farmers. It was hostile to the FLP, leaving the FLP without power regarding farm economics.<ref>Richard M Valelly, ''Radicalism in the states : the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party and the American political economy'' (1989) p. 15.</ref>

The [[Minnesota Democratic Party]], led by [[Hubert Humphrey]], was able to absorb the Farmer–Labor Party on April 15, 1944, creating the [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]]. Humphrey and his team expelled the Communist element from the new organization.<ref>Hubert H. Humphrey, ''The Education of a Public Man. My Life and Politics'' (1976) pp 84-85.</ref>

== Notable members ==

[[File:FL-Convention1922.jpg|thumb|center|x100px|The 1922 Farmer–Labor Convention, held in Minneapolis]]

=== Governors of Minnesota ===
*[[Floyd B. Olson]] (1931–1936)
*[[Hjalmar Petersen]] (1936–1937)
*[[Elmer Austin Benson]] (1937–1939)

=== Lieutenant Governors of Minnesota ===
*[[Henry M. Arens]] (1931–1933)
*[[Konrad K. Solberg]] (1933–1935)
*[[Hjalmar Petersen]] (1935–1936)
*[[Gottfrid Lindsten]] (1937–1939)

=== Attorneys General of Minnesota ===
*[[Harry H. Peterson]] (1933–1936)
*[[William S. Ervin]] (1936–1939)

=== Minnesota State Treasurers ===
*[[C. A. Halverson]] (1937–1939)

=== United States Senators ===
*[[Henrik Shipstead]] (1923–1941); later became a [[Republican Party of Minnesota|Republican]]
*[[Magnus Johnson]] (1923–1925)
*[[Elmer Austin Benson]] (1935–1937)
*[[Ernest Lundeen]] (1937–1940)

=== United States Representatives ===
*[[Charles August Lindbergh]] (1907–1917) (elected as a Republican)
*[[William Leighton Carss]] (1919–1921, 1925–1929)
*[[Ole J. Kvale]] (1923–1929)
*[[Knud Wefald]] (1923–1927)
*[[Paul John Kvale]] (1929–1939)
*[[Henry M. Arens]] (1933–1935)
*[[Magnus Johnson]] (1933–1935)
*[[Ernest Lundeen]] (1933–1937); had previously served as a Republican Representative (1915–1917), also served in the Senate
*[[Francis Shoemaker]] (1933–1935)
*[[Rich T. Buckler]] (1935–1943)
*[[John Bernard (American politician)|John T. Bernard]] (1937–1939)
*[[Dewey Johnson (Minnesota politician)|Dewey Johnson]] (1937–1939)
*[[Henry Teigan]] (1937–1939)
*[[Harold Hagen]] (1943–1955); served as a Republican after 1945
{{See also|United States congressional delegations from Minnesota}}

=== Speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives ===
*[[Charles Munn (politician)|Charles Munn]] (1933–1935)
*[[Harold H. Barker]] (1937–1939)

=== Minnesota State Legislators ===
*[[Samuel H. Bellman]] (1935–1938)
*[[Willard F. Bennett]] (1933–1943)
*[[Myrtle Cain]] (1923–1924)
*[[John W. Cox (Minnesota politician)|John W. Cox]] (1935–1938)
*[[Andrew Olaf Devold]] (1915–1918, 1919–1926, 1931–1939)

=== Local Politicians ===
*[[William A. Anderson]], Mayor of Minneapolis (1931–1933)
*[[Thomas E. Latimer]], Mayor of Minneapolis (1935–1937)
*[[William Mahoney (mayor)|William Mahoney]], Mayor of St. Paul (1932–1934)

=== Other members ===
*[[Nellie Stone Johnson]], civil rights activist
*[[Thomas Van Lear]], former mayor of Minneapolis
*[[Walter Liggett]], journalist
*[[Willard Munger]], future state legislator
*[[Susie Williamson Stageberg]], called the "Mother of Farmer-Labor"

== Electoral history ==
=== Federal offices ===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|+
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! colspan="5" | U.S. Senate
! colspan="9" | U.S. House of Representatives
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year
! Nominee
! # votes
! % votes
! Place
! Election
! Leader
! colspan=2|Votes
! Seats
! Position
! Control
|-
![[1918 United States Senate elections|1918]]
|colspan=4|''Did Not Contest''
![[1918 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1918]]
|colspan=3|''Did Not Contest''
|style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|0|10|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|{{steady}} 
|{{no2|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]}}
|-
![[1920 United States Senate elections|1920]]
|colspan=4|''No Seat Up''
![[1920 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1920]]
|N/A
|style="text-align:right;"|62,332
|style="text-align:right;"|8.34%
|style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|0|10|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|{{steady}} 
|{{no2|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]}}
|-
![[1922 United States Senate elections|1922]]
|[[Henrik Shipstead]]
|325,372
|{{Composition bar|47.10|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Elected'''
![[1922 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1922]]
|N/A
|style="text-align:right;"|35,551
|style="text-align:right;"|5.58%
|style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|1|10|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 1
|{{no2|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]}}
|-
![[1924 United States Senate elections|1923]] (S)
|[[Magnus Johnson]]
|290,165
|{{Composition bar|57.48|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Elected'''
|rowspan=2|[[1924 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1924]]
|rowspan=2|N/A
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:right;"|337,035
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:right;"|41.48%
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|3|10|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|rowspan=2 |{{increase}} 2
|rowspan=2 {{no2|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]}}
|-
![[1924 United States Senate elections|1924]]
|[[Magnus Johnson]]
|380,646
|{{Composition bar|45.50|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 5
|-
![[1926 United States Senate elections|1926]]
|colspan=4|''No Seat Up''
![[1926 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1926]]
|N/A
|style="text-align:right;"|230,758
|style="text-align:right;"|35.03%
|style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|2|10|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|{{decrease}} 1
|{{no2|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]}}
|-
![[1928 United States Senate elections|1928]]
|[[Henrik Shipstead]]
|665,169
|{{Composition bar|65.38|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Re-elected'''
![[1928 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1928]]
|N/A
|style="text-align:right;"|251,126
|style="text-align:right;"|25.84%
|style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|1|10|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|{{decrease}} 1
|{{no2|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]}}
|-
![[1930 United States Senate elections|1930]]
|[[Ernest Lundeen]]
|178,671
|{{Composition bar|22.89|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|3rd of 5
![[1930 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1930]]
|N/A
|style="text-align:right;"|271,599
|style="text-align:right;"|35.75%
|style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|1|10|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|{{steady}}
|{{no2|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]}}
|-
![[1932 United States Senate elections|1932]]
|colspan=4|''No Seat Up''
![[1932 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1932]]
|N/A
|style="text-align:right;"|388,616
|style="text-align:right;"|38.75%
|style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|5|9|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 4
|{{yes2|Farmer-Labor}}
|-
![[1934 United States Senate elections|1934]]
|[[Henrik Shipstead]]
|503,379
|{{Composition bar|49.87|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Re-elected'''
![[1934 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1934]]
|N/A
|style="text-align:right;"|376,927
|style="text-align:right;"|37.86%
|style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|3|9|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|{{decrease}} 2
|{{no2|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]}}
|-
![[1936 United States Senate elections|1936]] (S)
|colspan=4|''Did Not Contest''
|rowspan=2|[[1936 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1936]]
|rowspan=2|N/A
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:right;"|462,714
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:right;"|42.40%
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|5|9|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|rowspan=2 |{{increase}} 2
|rowspan=2 {{yes2|Farmer-Labor}}
|-
![[1936 United States Senate elections|1936]]
|[[Ernest Lundeen]]
|663,363
|{{Composition bar|62.24|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Elected'''
|-
![[1938 United States Senate elections|1938]]
|colspan=4|''No Seat Up''
![[1938 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1938]]
|N/A
|style="text-align:right;"|338,684
|style="text-align:right;"|31.63%
|style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|1|9|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|{{decrease}} 4
|{{no2|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]}}
|-
![[1940 United States Senate elections|1940]]
|[[Elmer Austin Benson]]
|310,875
|{{Composition bar|25.70|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 5
![[1940 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1940]]
|N/A
|style="text-align:right;"|298,250
|style="text-align:right;"|24.74%
|style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|1|9|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|{{steady}} 
|{{no2|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]}}
|-
![[1942 United States Senate elections|1942]]
|[[Elmer Austin Benson]]
|213,965
|{{Composition bar|28.21|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 4
![[1942 United States House of Representatives elections#Minnesota|1942]]
|N/A
|style="text-align:right;"|151,684
|style="text-align:right;"|19.92%
|style="text-align:center;"|{{Infobox political party/seats|1|9|{{party color|Farmer-Labor Party}}}}
|{{steady}} 
|{{no2|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]}}
|-
|}

=== Minnesota state offices ===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|+
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! colspan="5" | Governor
! colspan="5" | Lieutenant Governor
! colspan="5" | Attorney General
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year
! Nominee
! # votes
! % votes
! Place
! Year
! Nominee
! # votes
! % votes
! Place
! Year
! Nominee
! # votes
! % votes
! Place
|-
|[[1918 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1918]]
|David H. Evans
|111,948
|{{Composition bar|30.28|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 5
|[[1918 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1918]]
|colspan=4|''Did Not Contest''
|[[1918 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1918]]
|colspan=4|''Did Not Contest''
|-
|[[1920 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1920]]
|colspan=4|''Did Not Contest''
|[[1920 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1920]]
|colspan=4|''Did Not Contest''
|[[1920 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1920]]
|colspan=4|''Did Not Contest''
|-
|[[1922 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1922]]
|[[Magnus Johnson]]
|295,479
|{{Composition bar|43.13|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1922 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1922]]
|Arthur A. Siegler
|267,417
|{{Composition bar|39.59|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1922 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1922]]
|Roy C. Smelker
|254,715
|{{Composition bar|39.41|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|-
|[[1924 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1924]]
|[[Floyd B. Olson]]
|366,029
|{{Composition bar|43.84|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 5
|[[1924 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1924]]
|Emil E. Holmes
|345,633
|{{Composition bar|42.86|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1924 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1924]]
|Thomas V. Sullivan
|342,236
|{{Composition bar|42.59|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|-
|[[1926 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1926]]
|[[Magnus Johnson]]
|266,845
|{{Composition bar|38.09|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1926 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1926]]
|Emil E. Holmes
|236,307
|{{Composition bar|35.62|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1926 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1926]]
|Frank McAllister
|214,781
|{{Composition bar|33.32|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|-
|[[1928 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1928]]
|[[Ernest Lundeen]]
|227,193
|{{Composition bar|22.72|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 5
|[[1928 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1928]]
|Thomas J. Meighen
|235,133
|{{Composition bar|24.96|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1928 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1928]]
|C. F. Gaarenstroom
|192,472
|{{Composition bar|20.87|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|-
|[[1930 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1930]]
|[[Floyd B. Olson]]
|473,154
|{{Composition bar|59.34|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Elected'''
|[[1930 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1930]]
|[[Henry M. Arens]]
|345,225
|{{Composition bar|50.32|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Elected'''
|[[1930 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1930]]
|Joseph B. Himsl
|256,581
|{{Composition bar|36.57|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|-
|[[1932 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1932]]
|[[Floyd B. Olson]]
|522,438
|{{Composition bar|50.57|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Re-elected'''
|[[1932 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1932]]
|[[Konrad K. Solberg]]
|429,759
|{{Composition bar|45.34|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Elected'''
|[[1932 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1932]]
|[[Harry H. Peterson]]
|379,418
|{{Composition bar|39.87|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Elected'''
|-
|[[1934 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1934]]
|[[Floyd B. Olson]]
|468,812
|{{Composition bar|44.61|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Re-elected'''
|[[1934 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1934]]
|[[Hjalmar Petersen]]
|428,897
|{{Composition bar|43.64|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Elected'''
|[[1934 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1934]]
|[[Harry H. Peterson]]
|436,140
|{{Composition bar|44.89|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Re-elected'''
|-
|[[1936 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1936]]
|[[Elmer Austin Benson]]
|680,342
|{{Composition bar|60.74|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Elected'''
|[[1936 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1936]]
|[[Gottfrid Lindsten]]
|502,856
|{{Composition bar|47.46|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Elected'''
|[[1936 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1936]]
|[[Harry H. Peterson]]
|530,815
|{{Composition bar|49.62|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Re-elected'''
|-
|[[1938 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1938]]
|[[Elmer Austin Benson]]
|387,263
|{{Composition bar|34.18|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 4
|[[1938 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1938]]
|John J. Kinzer
|374,577
|{{Composition bar|34.73|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1938 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1938]]
|[[William S. Ervin]]
|378,385
|{{Composition bar|35.56|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|-
|[[1940 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1940]]
|[[Hjalmar Petersen]]
|459,609
|{{Composition bar|36.55|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 4
|[[1940 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1940]]
|Howard Y. Williams
|305,418
|{{Composition bar|26.11|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1940 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1940]]
|David J. Erickson
|284,337
|{{Composition bar|24.35|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|-
|[[1942 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1942]]
|[[Hjalmar Petersen]]
|299,917
|{{Composition bar|37.76|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 5
|[[1942 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1942]]
|Juls J. Anderson
|250,410
|{{Composition bar|33.42|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1942 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1942]]
|David J. Erickson
|187,074
|{{Composition bar|25.48|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! colspan="5" | Secretary of State
! colspan="5" | Treasurer
! colspan="5" | Auditor
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year
! Nominee
! # votes
! % votes
! Place
! Year
! Nominee
! # votes
! % votes
! Place
! Year
! Nominee
! # votes
! % votes
! Place
|-
|[[1918 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1918]]
|colspan=4|''Did Not Contest''
|[[1918 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1918]]
|colspan=4|''Did Not Contest''
|[[1918 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1918]]
|colspan=4|''Did Not Contest''
|-
|[[1920 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1920]]
|Lily J. Anderson
|193,658
|{{Composition bar|26.37|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 5
|[[1920 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1920]]
|John P. Wagner
|191,429
|{{Composition bar|26.19|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 4
|[[1920 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1920]]
|colspan=4|''Seat Not Up''
|-
|[[1922 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1922]]
|[[Susie Williamson Stageberg]]
|247,757
|{{Composition bar|37.37|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1922 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1922]]
|Frank H. Keyes
|294,102
|{{Composition bar|46.39|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 2
|[[1922 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1922]]
|Eliza Evans Deming
|253,913
|{{Composition bar|39.60|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|-
|[[1924 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1924]]
|[[Susie Williamson Stageberg]]
|288,946
|{{Composition bar|35.75|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1924 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1924]]
|Carl M. "C. M." Berg
|322,585
|{{Composition bar|40.67|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1924 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1924]]
|colspan=4|''Seat Not Up''
|-
|[[1926 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1926]]
|Charles Olson
|217,424
|{{Composition bar|32.60|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 2
|[[1926 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1926]]
|Thomas J. Meighen
|244,861
|{{Composition bar|38.89|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 2
|[[1926 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1926]]
|S. O. Tjosvold
|218,074
|{{Composition bar|34.52|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 2
|-
|[[1928 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1928]]
|[[Susie Williamson Stageberg]]
|178,096
|{{Composition bar|18.41|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1928 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1928]]
|Peter J. Seberger
|205,228
|{{Composition bar|21.95|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1928 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1928]]
|colspan=4|''Seat Not Up''
|-
|[[1930 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1930]]
|Anna Olson Determan
|209,596
|{{Composition bar|27.36|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 4
|[[1930 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1930]]
|Frederick B. Miller
|271,286
|{{Composition bar|37.41|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1930 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1930]]
|[[Henry Teigan]]
|260,272
|{{Composition bar|35.96|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|-
|[[1932 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1932]]
|John T. Lyons
|342,496
|{{Composition bar|34.79|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 4
|[[1932 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1932]]
|Albert H. Kleffman
|360,498
|{{Composition bar|37.72|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1932 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1932]]
|colspan=4|''Seat Not Up''
|-
|[[1934 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1934]]
|[[Konrad K. Solberg]]
|359,322
|{{Composition bar|35.46|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 4
|[[1934 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1934]]
|Albert H. Kleffman
|377,472
|{{Composition bar|38.78|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1934 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1934]]
|John T. Lyons
|379,654
|{{Composition bar|38.69|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|-
|[[1936 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1936]]
|Paul C. Hartig
|426,668
|{{Composition bar|39.16|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 4
|[[1936 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1936]]
|[[C. A. Halverson]]
|468,713
|{{Composition bar|43.79|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|'''Elected'''
|[[1936 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1936]]
|colspan=4|''Seat Not Up''
|-
|[[1938 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1938]]
|Paul A. Rasmussen
|328,474
|{{Composition bar|29.81|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1938 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1938]]
|[[C. A. Halverson]]
|378,160
|{{Composition bar|35.27|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1938 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1938]]
|John T. Lyons
|364,636
|{{Composition bar|33.98|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|-
|[[1940 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1940]]
|James I. Heller
|230,148
|{{Composition bar|19.07|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1940 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1940]]
|[[C. A. Halverson]]
|296,477
|{{Composition bar|25.25|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1940 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1940]]
|colspan=4|''Seat Not Up''
|-
|[[1942 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1942]]
|Daniel D. Collins
|146,825
|{{Composition bar|19.07|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1942 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1942]]
|Charles J. Johnson
|183,458
|{{Composition bar|24.78|100|hex=#66FF99}}
|2nd of 3
|[[1942 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1942]]
|colspan=4|''Did Not Contest''
|-
|}

== See also ==
* [[Non-Partisan League]]
* [[New Deal coalition]]
* [[National Progressives of America]] 
* [[Wisconsin Progressive Party]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Benson, Elmer A. "Politics in My Lifetime." ''Minnesota History'' 47 (1980): 154-60. [http://collections.mnhs.org/mnhistorymagazine/articles/47/v47i04p154-161.pdf online]
* Delton, Jennifer. ''Making Minnesota Liberal: Civil Rights and the Transformation of the Democratic Party'' (2002) focus on how Humphrey used race issue to take over FLP..
* Garlid, George W. "The Antiwar Dilemma of the Farmer-Labor Party." ''Minnesota History'' (1967): 365-374. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20177928 in JSTOR]
*Gieske, Millard L. ''Minnesota Farmer-Laborism: The Third-Party Alternative'' (1979) 389pp
* Haynes, John Earl. ''Dubious alliance: the making of Minnesota's DFL Party'' (U of Minnesota Press, 1984)
* Haynes, John Earl. "Farm Coops and the Election of Hubert Humphrey to the Senate." ''Agricultural History'' (1983): 201-211. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3743156 in JSTOR]
* Haynes, John Earl. "The new history of the communist party in state politics: The implications for mainstream political history." ''Labor History'' (1986) 27#4 pp: 549-563.
* Hyman, Colette A. "Culture as Strategy: Popular Front Politics and the Minneapolis Theatre Union, 1935-39." ''Minnesota History'' (1991): 294-306.  [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20187735 in JSTOR]
* Lovin, Hugh T. "The Fall of Farmer-Labor Parties, 1936-1938." ''Pacific Northwest Quarterly'' (1971): 16-26. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40488875 in JSTOR]
* McCoy, Donald R. ''Angry voices: Left-of-center politics in the New Deal era'' (1958; reprint 2012) 
* Mayer, George H. ''The Political Career of Floyd B. Olson'' (1987)
* Mitau, G. Theodore. "The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Schism of 1948." ''Minnesota History'' (1955): 187-194. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20175887 in JSTOR]
* Naftalin, Arthur. "The Tradition of Protest and the Roots of the Farmer-Labor Party." ''Minnesota History'' 35.2 (1956): 53-63. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20176002 online]
* Rude, Leslie G. "The rhetoric of farmer‐labor agitators." ''Communication Studies'' 20.4 (1969): 280-285.
* Sofchalk, Donald G. "Union and Ethnic Group Influence in the 1938 Election on the Minnesota Iron Ranges." ''Journal of the West'' (2003) 42#3 pp: 66-74.
* Valelly, Richard M.  ''Radicalism in the States:  The Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party and the American Political Economy'' (University of Chicago Press, 1989)

== External links ==
* [http://www.populist.com/09.5.pedersen.html Article on the Minnesota Farmer–Labor party from The Progressive Populist]
* [https://www.minnesotafl.blogspot.com/ Minnesota Farmer–Labor]
* [http://www.spartacus-educational.com/USAfarmerlabor.htm Farmer–Labor information page]
* [http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/eam/flp/farmerlaborparty.html The Farmer Labor Party 1918–1924] Organizational history of attempts to form a national Farmer–Labor Party. [http://www.marxists.org Marxist Internet Archive].  Retrieved May 26, 2006.
* [http://justcomm.org/fla-hist.htm TOWARD THE COOPERATIVE COMMONWEALTH]: AN INTRODUCTORY HISTORY OF THE FARMER–LABOR MOVEMENT IN MINNESOTA (1917–1948). 232 page online copy of Thomas Gerald O'Connell's 1979 Phd thesis from [http://www.tui.edu The Union Institute].
* Luoma, Everett E.: [http://thefarmertakesaholiday.wordpress.com/''The Farmer Takes A Holiday.'']  Exposition Press, 1967.

{{Minnesota political parties}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party}}
[[Category:Agrarian parties in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct progressive parties in the United States]]
[[Category:History of Minnesota]]
[[Category:Labor parties in the United States]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1918]]
[[Category:Political parties disestablished in 1944]]
[[Category:Political parties in Minnesota]]
[[Category:1918 establishments in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Farmer–Labor Party (United States)|Minnesota]]
[[Category:Socialism in Minnesota]]