1908 Minnesota gubernatorial election

The 1908 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1908. Democratic incumbent John Albert Johnson defeated republican challenger Jacob F. Jacobson. Johnson would become only the second governor of Minnesota to be elected to a third term, the first being John S. Pillsbury in 1879. Johnson would not then become the second governor to serve three full terms, as he would die while only eight months into office in September of 1909.

• Beecher Moore, Lecturer (Public Ownership)
• George D. Haggard, Physician (Prohibition)
• Jacob F. Jacobson, Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives (Republican)
• John Albert Johnson, Incumbent (Democrat)
• William W. Allen, Attorney (Independence)

A political cartoon depicting the 'burning out' of Republican support for Johnson

The Democratic State Convention was held on August 19, 1908. Johnson was nominated for his third term without opposition. Johnson was unaware he was even a nominee until the convention had concluded and his nomination finalized. When he was asked by a journalist later that day about his thoughts on the renomination, an unaware Johnson replied "I have not been officially notified of the nomination. I have nothing to say."

The Republican State Convention was held on June 26, 1908. Jacobson was the overwhelming choice, but was contested by attorney general Edward T. Young. Young's delegates would mostly switch to Jacobson before the ballot was to be called. By the time the time came to vote, a motion passed to have the nomination done by acclamation, which was overwhelmingly in favor of Jacobson.

Jacobson was popular with businessmen, who presented himself as a conservative. Jacobson attempted to market himself as a conservative who was not against progressives.

Johnson's two previous elections had relied almost entirely on defecting Republican votes to win the elections, and the sentiment from both sides is that Johnson would be unable to maintain support among Republicans. Jacobson hoped to being back enough voters to win the election, while Johnson, still popular, attempted to keep them. When the results came out, Jacobson had in fact gained about nine percentage points worth of ground, making the election still a comfortable win for Johnson, but his closest result. Jacobson faced difficulty with multiple third party performances that hindered his campaign. Even with their votes, Johnson still would have had about a four point lead.

• List of Minnesota gubernatorial elections

Minnesota Historical Election Archive