Johnson vs Dayton: Out with the Old, In with the Young?

Dayton bucked history in 2010: the younger Minnesota gubernatorial nominee has been victorious at more than twice the rate as the older nominee since statehood

The oldest governor in Minnesota history will square off against a Republican nominee nearly 20 years his junior this November.

DFLer Mark Dayton (born in 1947) will try to defeat a much younger GOP opponent for the second consecutive cycle – having narrowly dispatched with Tom Emmer (1961) four years ago.

Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson is 47 years old, while Dayton, at 67 years, 7 months, 16 days through Thursday, is already the oldest Minnesotan to serve in the position of governor by more than three years – and hopes to be the first to reach the age of 70.

Throughout Minnesota history, younger gubernatorial candidates have generally thrived on Election Day compared to their more seasoned counterparts, winning more than twice as many contests – 44 victories against 21 defeats (68 percent).

When the age difference between the major candidates has been at least 10 years, as it will be in 2014, the younger candidate has defeated the older one in 21 of 29 cycles, or 72 percent of the time.

With an age difference of 19 years, 9 months, and 16 days, the Dayton vs. Johnson matchup features the 6th biggest age gap between the top tier gubernatorial nominees across the 66 such contests in Minnesota history.

The largest age difference in a general election gubernatorial matchup in the Gopher State was in 1918 when Republican J.A.A. Burnquist (born in 1879) defeated Democrat David Evans (1852), who was 27 years his elder.

Two years prior, Burnquist was also 24 years younger than Democrat Thomas Dwyer (1852), who he also defeated.

The only other Minnesota gubernatorial contests with bigger age gaps than Johnson vs. Dayton were:

● 1986: DFLer Rudy Perpich (born 1928) and Republican Carl Ludeman (1951) at 23 years
● 1994: Republican Arne Carlson (1934) and DFLer John Marty (1956) at 22 years
● 1890: Republican William Merriam (1849) and Democrat Thomas Wilson (1827) at 22 years.

Dayton became Minnesota’s oldest governor shortly after taking office on May 12, 2011.

On that day, Dayton was 64 years, 3 months, 12 days old – one day older than Republican Arne Carlson when he left office in January 1999.

Only three other Gopher State governors have reached the age of 60 while in office:

● DFLer Rudy Perpich exited office during his second stint in 1991 at the age of 62 years, 6 months, 11 days
● Republican Samuel Van Sant left office in 1905 at 60 years, 7 months, 24 days
● Republican Harold LeVander completed his first and only term in 1971 at 60 years, 2 months, 25 days

The average age of Minnesota governors upon exiting office since statehood has been a shade over 49 years.

The advantage of youth at the ballot box has seemingly lessened in recent decades, with the older nominee winning in six of the last 14 contests: in 1960 (Elmer Andersen), 1966 (Harold LeVander), 1978 (Al Quie), 1986 (Rudy Perpich), 1994 (Arne Carlson), and 2010 (Dayton).

However, during a remarkable stretch from 1904 through 1942, the younger candidate defeated the older candidate in 19 out of 20 Minnesota gubernatorial races – even though many of these elder candidates were political heavyweights:

● 1926: Republican Theodore Christianson (born in 1883) defeated former U.S. Senator Magnus Johnson (1871)
● 1928: Christianson also defeated the older former U.S. Representative (and future U.S. Senator) Ernest Lundeen (1878)
● 1938: At just north of 30 years old, Republican Harold Stassen (1907) defeated former Governor Elmer Benson (1895)
● 1940 & 1942: Stassen defeated former Governor Hjalmer Peterson (1890)

The aforementioned Stassen holds the mark for being the youngest governor in Minnesota history to enter (31 years, 8 months, 20 days) and leave (36 years, 14 days) office.

If reelected, Dayton will be 71 years, 11 months, 12 days at the end of his second term in January 2019.

Dayton and Johnson will be joined on the ballot in November by Independence Party nominee Hannah Nicollet, Libertarian Chris Holbrook, and Grassroots candidate Chris Wright.

Oldest Governors in Minnesota History

Rank	Governor	Party	Born	Left Office	Age Left Office
1	Mark Dayton	DFL	Jan 26, 1947	In office	67 yrs, 7 months, 16 days
2	Arne Carlson	Republican	Sep 24, 1934	Jan 4, 1999	64 yrs, 3 months, 11 days
3	Rudy Perpich*	DFL	June 27, 1928	Jan 7, 1991	62 yrs, 6 months, 11 days
4	Samuel Van Sant	Republican	May 11, 1844	Jan 4, 1905	60 yrs, 7 months, 24 days
5	Harold LeVander	Republican	Oct 10, 1910	Jan 4, 1971	60 yrs, 2 months, 25 days
6	Al Quie	Republican	Sep 18, 1923	Jan 3, 1983	59 yrs, 3 months, 16 days
7	Luther Youngdahl	Republican	May 29, 1896	Sep 27, 1951	55 yrs, 3 months, 29 days
8	John Pillsbury	Republican	Jul 29, 1827	Jan 10, 1882	54 yrs, 5 months, 12 days
9	Elmer Andersen	Republican	June 17, 1909	Mar 20, 1963	53 yrs, 9 months, 3 days
10	Karl Rolvaag	DFL	July 18, 1913	Jan 2, 1967	53 yrs, 5 months, 15 days
11	Winfield Hammond	Democrat	Nov 17, 1863	Dec 30, 1915	52 yrs, 1 month, 13 days
12	David Clough	Republican	Dec 27, 1846	Jan 2, 1899	52 yrs, 6 days
13	Knute Nelson	Republican	Feb 2, 1843	Jan 31, 1895	51 yrs, 11 months, 29 days
14	Jesse Ventura	Reform	July 15, 1951	Jan 6, 2003	51 yrs, 5 months, 22 days
15	Lucius Hubbard	Republican	Jan 26, 1836	Jan 5, 1887	50 yrs, 11 months, 10 days
16	Edward Thye	Republican	Apr 26, 1896	Jan 8, 1947	50 yrs, 8 months, 13 days
17	Tim Pawlenty	Republican	Nov 27, 1960	Jan 3, 2011	50 yrs, 1 month, 7 days
18	Stephen Miller	Republican	Jan 7, 1816	Jan 8, 1866	50 yrs, 1 day
19	Andrew McGill	Republican	Feb 19, 1840	Jan 9, 1889	48 yrs, 10 months, 21 days
20	Henry Sibley	Democrat	Feb 20, 1811	Jan 2, 1860	48 yrs, 10 months, 13 days
21	John Johnson	Democrat	Jul 28, 1861	Sep 21, 1909	48 yrs, 1 month, 24 days
22	Alexander Ramsey	Republican	Sep 8, 1815	Jul 10, 1863	47 yrs, 10 months, 2 days
23	Theodore Christianson	Republican	Sep 12, 1883	Jan 6, 1931	47 yrs, 3 months, 25 days
24	Hjalmar Petersen	F-L	Jan 2, 1890	Jan 4, 1937	47 yrs, 2 days
25	John Lind	Democrat	Mar 25, 1854	Jan 7, 1901	46 yrs, 9 months, 13 days
26	Floyd Olson	F-L	Nov 13, 1891	Aug 22, 1936	44 yrs, 9 months, 9 days
27	Adolph Eberhart	Republican	Jun 23, 1870	Jan 5, 1915	44 yrs, 6 months, 13 days
28	William Marshall	Republican	Oct 17, 1825	Jan 9, 1870	44 years, 2 months, 23 days
29	Wendell Anderson	DFL	Feb 1, 1933	Dec 29, 1976	43 yrs, 10 months, 28 days
30	William Merriam	Republican	Jul 26, 1849	Jan 4, 1893	43 yrs, 5 months, 9 days
31	Elmer Benson	F-L	Sep 22, 1895	Jan 2, 1939	43 yrs, 3 months, 11 days
32	C. Elmer Anderson	Republican	Mar 16, 1912	Jan 5, 1955	42 yrs, 9 months, 20 days
33	Orville Freeman	DFL	May 9, 1918	Jan 2, 1961	42 yrs, 7 months, 24 days
34	Horace Austin	Republican	Oct 15, 1831	Jan 7, 1874	42 yrs, 2 months, 23 days
35	J.A.A. Burnquist	Republican	Jul 21, 1879	Jan 5, 1921	41 yrs, 5 months, 15 days
36	J.A.O. Preus	Republican	Aug 28, 1883	Jan 6, 1925	41 yrs, 4 months, 9 days
37	Henry Swift	Republican	Mar 23, 1823	Jan 11, 1864	40 yrs, 9 months, 19 days
38	Cushman Davis	Republican	Jun 16, 1838	Jan 7, 1876	37 yrs, 6 months, 22 days
39	Harold Stassen	Republican	Apr 13, 1907	Apr 27, 1943	36 yrs, 14 days

* Denote age Perpich left office after his second stint in 1991. Table compiled by Smart Politics.

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