Pathway to the Governor’s Mansion in Minnesota, Part IV: Age

Current crop of 2010 gubernatorial candidates is more ‘seasoned’ than Gopher State governors throughout history

(Previous installments of Smart Politics’ ‘Pathway to the Governor’s Mansion’ series include reports on the political experience, geographic background, and ethnic background of successful gubernatorial candidates in Minnesota history).

Do Minnesota voters go for camera-ready youthful looks or a more seasoned visage that symbolizes years of wisdom and experience? And which has been the more successful tool to create a pathway to St. Paul for gubernatorial candidates in the Gopher State?

As it turn out, Minnesotans have historically tended to elect fairly young gubernatorial candidates, according to a Smart Politics analysis of the 38 individuals who have become Governor dating back to statehood. However, while the average age of Minnesota’s governors upon assuming office has been 44.3 years, the current batch of 2010 gubernatorial hopefuls come in at a much more ‘seasoned’ average age of 52.2 years – one year out from Election Day.

(Note: Eight Lieutenant Governors ascended into office due to death or resignation of their predecessor. Six of these were later elected into office. After adjusting the data to reflect the age of these individuals after their election into office, the average age was still a very similar 44.7 years. As such, the following analysis is based on the age at which these 38 men first became governor – elected or otherwise).

The youngest Governor in Minnesota history was Republican Harold Stassen, who took office in 1939 at the tender age of 31. A total of 11 men became governor while still in their 30s including Cushman Davis (35), Orville Freeman (36), J.A.A. Burnquist (36), Wendell Anderson (37), J.A.O. Preus (37), Horace Austin (38), C. Elmer Anderson (39), Floyd Olson (39), Adolph Eberhart (39), and William Merriam (39).

The oldest man to be elected to the state’s highest office was the 15th Governor, Republican Samuel Van Sant, who, at 56 years and 7+ months was a few months older than Harold LeVander and Arne Carlson when they assumed office in 1967 and 1991 respectively. Five other individuals were in their 50s at the time they became Governor: Al Quie (55), Winfield Hammond (51), Elmer Andersen (51), Knute Nelson (50), and Luther Youngdahl (50).

Another 19 men became governor while in their 40s.

Age of Minnesota Governors Upon Assuming Office

#	Governor	Years	Age
39	Tim Pawlenty	2003-present	42
38	Jesse Ventura	1999-2003	47
37	Arne Carlson	1991-1999	56
34, 36	Rudy Perpich*	1976-1979, 1983-1991	48
35	Al Quie	1979-1983	55
33	Wendell Anderson	1971-1976	37
32	Harold LeVander	1967-1971	56
31	Kark Rolvaag	1963-1967	49
30	Elmer Andersen	1961-1963	51
29	Orville Freeman	1955-1961	36
28	C. Elmer Anderson*	1951-1955	39
27	Luther Youngdahl	1947-1951	50
26	Edward Thye*	1943-1947	46
25	Harold Stassen	1939-1943	31
24	Elmer Benson	1937-1939	41
23	Hjalmar Petersen**	1936-1937	46
22	Floyd Olson	1931-1936	39
21	Theodore Christianson	1925-1931	41
20	J.A.O. Preus	1921-1925	37
19	J.A.A. Burnquist*	1915-1921	36
18	Winfield Hammond	1915-1915	51
17	Adolph Eberhart*	1909-1915	39
16	John Johnson	1905-1909	43
15	Samuel Van Sant	1901-1905	56
14	John Lind	1899-1901	44
13	David Clough*	1895-1899	48
12	Knute Nelson	1893-1895	50
11	William Merriam	1889-1893	39
10	Andrew McGill	1887-1889	46
9	Lucius Hubbard	1882-1887	45
8	John Pillsbury	1876-1882	48
7	Cushman Davis	1874-1876	35
6	Horace Austin	1870-1874	38
5	William Marshall	1866-1870	40
4	Stephen Miller	1864-1866	48
3	Henry Swift**	1863-1864	40
2	Alexander Ramsey	1860-1863	44
1	Henry Sibley	1858-1860	47

* Denotes individuals who first became governor through resignation or death of their predecessor, but were later elected into office in their own right. ** Denotes individuals who were never elected into the governor’s office. Source: Minnesota Historical Society, data compiled by Smart Politics.

But of the nearly 20 DFL and GOP candidates running (or exploring a run) for governor of the Gopher State in 2010, the average age is, at 52.2 years, nearly 8 years older than the historical average, still one year out from Election Day. There is no difference between the average age of the Republicans (52.2) and DFLers (52.3) who are currently in the mix.

GOPer Leslie Davis is the oldest candidate at 72, with Republican and former 8th Congressional District nominee Phil Herwig at 67, former DFL Senator Mark Dayton at 62, and former GOP Representative Bill Haas at 60.

Another eight 2010 candidates are in their 50s with 5 more in their 40s.

The two youngest candidates in the field are GOP State Representative Paul Kohls at 35 and former House Minority Leader Marty Siefert at 37.

Of course, the average life expectancy today is much longer than during the Gopher State’s formative years.

Still, even examining only those governors elected in the modern era (1950+), the average age upon being sworn into office was still nearly 5.5 years younger (46.9 years) than the current crop of 2010 candidates. (The average age of those becoming governor from 1900-1949 was 42.8 years and from 1858-1899 was 43.7 years).

Age of Minnesota’s 2010 DFL and Republican Gubernatorial Candidates

Candidate	Party	Age
Leslie Davis	GOP	72
Philip Herwig	GOP	67
Mark Dayton	DFL	62
Bill Haas	GOP	60
Tom Rukavina	DFL	59
David Hann	GOP	57
Steve Kelley	DFL	56
Susan Gaertner	DFL	55
Tom Bakk	DFL	55
R.T. Rybak	DFL	53
John Marty	DFL	52
Mike Jungbauer	GOP	51
Matt Entenza	DFL	48
Tom Emmer	GOP	48
Pat Anderson	GOP	43
Paul Thissen	DFL	42
Margaret Anderson Kelliher	DFL	41
Marty Seifert	GOP	37
Paul Kohls	GOP	35
Average		52.2

Data compiled by Smart Politics.

And how has age factored into head-to-head gubernatorial matchups? Smart Politics will explore this in Part 5 of its Pathways to the Governor’s Mansion series.

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