Hello, Governor – What’s Your Sign?

Virgo and Cancer are the most common signs for Minnesota governors throughout history; Scorpios and Sagittariuses are the rarest

While Governor Tim Pawlenty may be more well-known as one of only two Minnesota governors to have been elected two times without a majority of the vote (along with Knute Nelson), his victory in 2002 also marked a first in Minnesota history.

After 145 years, Pawlenty finally ended the Sagittarius drought when he became the first Minnesotan to be elected governor under that astrological sign since statehood in 1857.

In today’s (admittedly frivolous) fifth installment of its Pathway to the Governor’s Mansion series, Smart Politics looks across history and up at the stars for the astrological signs of the 38 men who have served as governor of the Gopher State.

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

An examination of birth information provided by the Minnesota Historical Society finds governors born under the signs of Cancer and Virgo are the most common in Minnesota history, with five each.

There have actually been six Cancers if Rudy Perpich (June 27) is counted twice – the DFLer served from 1976-1979 after Governor Wendell R. Anderson resigned to become U.S. Senator, and then was elected twice, serving again from 1983 to 1991. (Perpich is officially known as the 34th and 36th Governors of Minnesota).

Other governors born under the sign of Cancer are Republicans Adolph Eberhart (June 23) and J.A.A. Burnquist (July 21), DFLer Karl Rolvaag (July 18), and Jesse Ventura (July 15).

The state’s first Virgo was the 2nd Governor of Minnesota, GOPer Alexander Ramsey (September 8). It would be 60 years before the next Virgo was elected, triggering a string of three out of five governors born under this astrological sign: Republican J.A.O. Preus (August 28) in 1920, Republican Theodore Christiansen (September 12) in 1924, and Farmer-Laborite Elmer Benson (September 2) in 1936. Republican Al Quie (September 18) was the last Virgo governor of the Gopher State.

Libra is the next most common astrological sign for Minnesota’s governors with four – each of whom were Republicans. The first two Libras were the state’s 5th and 6th governors – William Marshall (October 17) and Horace Austin (October 15) – to be followed almost one hundred years later by Harold LeVander (October 10) and Arne Carlson (September 24).

There has been an equal number of governors born under the signs of Aquarius, Aries, Capricorn, Gemini, Pisces, Taurus, and Leo (with three for each).

Only two Minnesota governors have been Scorpios – Democrat Winfield Hammond (November 17) and Farmer-Laborite Floyd Olson (November 13).

With Pawlenty breaking the Sagittarius drought in 2002, the astrological sign with the current longest dry spell in the Gopher State is Leo – the last of which being the state’s 16th Governor, Democrat John Johnson (July 28), who left office 100 years ago in 1909.

The winless streak for Leos will likely continue in 2010 as none of the major announced DFL or Republican candidates were born under that sign….unless…

….Norm Coleman should enter the race. Coleman’s birthday is August 17th, and would be the best hope for Leos this election cycle.

And who among the major DFL and GOP candidates hopes to follow Pawlenty and extend the Sagittarius winning streak to two in a row? That would be DFL Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner (December 2) and DFL Representative Paul Thissen (December 10).

As for the favored signs – Cancer and Virgo – these are being represented in the 2010 gubernatorial fight by former Republican Representative Bill Haas (June 25) and DFL Representative Tom Rukavina (August 23) respectively.

Astrological Signs of Minnesota Governors, 1858-present

Governor	Years	Birthday	Sign
Henry Sibley	1858-1860	February 20 (1811)	Pisces
Alexander Ramsey	1860-1863	September 8 (1815)	Virgo
Henry Swift	1863-1864	March 23 (1823)	Aries
Stephen Miller	1864-1866	January 7 (1816)	Capricorn
William Marshall	1866-1870	October 17 (1825)	Libra
Horace Austin	1870-1874	October 15 (1831)	Libra
Cushman Davis	1874-1876	June 16 (1838)	Gemini
John Pillsbury	1876-1882	July 29 (1827)	Leo
Lucius Hubbard	1882-1887	January 26 (1836)	Aquarius
Andrew McGill	1887-1889	February 19 (1840)	Pisces
William Merriam	1889-1893	July 26 (1849)	Leo
Knute Nelson	1893-1895	February 2 (1842)	Aquarius
David Clough	1895-1899	December 27 (1846)	Capricorn
John Lind	1899-1901	March 25 (1854)	Aries
Samuel Van Sant	1901-1905	May 11 (1844)	Taurus
John Johnson	1905-1909	July 28 (1861)	Leo
Adolph Eberhart	1909-1915	June 23 (1870)	Cancer
Winfield Hammond	1915-1915	November 17 (1863)	Scorpio
J.A.A. Burnquist	1915-1921	July 21 (1879)	Cancer
J.A.O. Preus	1921-1925	August 28 (1883)	Virgo
Theodore Christianson	1925-1931	September 12 (1883)	Virgo
Floyd Olson	1931-1936	November 13 (1891)	Scorpio
Hjalmar Petersen	1936-1937	January 2 (1890)	Capricorn
Elmer Benson	1937-1939	September 2 (1895)	Virgo
Harold Stassen	1939-1943	April 13 (1907)	Aries
Edward Thye	1943-1947	April 26 (1896)	Taurus
Luther Youngdahl	1947-1951	May 29 (1896)	Gemini
C. Elmer Anderson	1951-1955	March 16 (1912)	Pisces
Orville Freeman	1955-1961	May 9 (1918)	Taurus
Elmer Andersen	1961-1963	June 17 (1909)	Gemini
Karl Rolvaag	1963-1967	July 18 (1913)	Cancer
Harold LeVander	1967-1971	October 10 (1910)	Libra
Wendell Anderson	1971-1976	February 1 (1933)	Aquarius
Rudy Perpich	1976-1979, 1983-1991	June 27 (1928)	Cancer
Al Quie	1979-1983	September 18 (1923)	Virgo
Arne Carlson	1991-1999	September 24 (1934)	Libra
Jesse Ventura	1999-2003	July 15 (1951)	Cancer
Tim Pawlenty	2003-present	November 27 (1960)	Sagittarius

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