Elmer Austin Benson
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| Elmer Austin Benson | |
 Elmer Austin Benson |
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| In office January 4, 1937 – January 2, 1939 |
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| Lieutenant | Gottfrid Lindsten |
| Preceded by | Hjalmar Petersen |
| Succeeded by | Harold Stassen |
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| Born | September 22, 1895 Appleton, Minnesota
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| Died | March 13, 1985 (aged 89) Appleton, Minnesota
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| Political party | Farmer-Labor |
| Spouse | Francis Lillian Miller |
| Profession | politician |
Elmer Austin Benson (September 22, 1895 – March 13, 1985) was an American politician from Minnesota. Born in 1895 in Appleton, Minnesota, he was appointed to the United States Senate on December 27, 1935 after the death of Thomas D. Schall and served until November 3, 1936 in the 74th congress.
He was elected the 24th Governor of Minnesota in 1936, by the largest margin in Minnesota history. He served as governor from January 4, 1937 to January 2, 1939. He lost his bid for reelection in 1938. He was a member of the Farmer-Labor Party. His defeat by a record margin in 1938 is seen as the end of the Farmer-Labor Party as an independent political force, and a setback for progressive politics in Minnesota. In 1940, he ran for the United States Senate against Henrik Shipstead, an incumbent senator who defected from the Farmer Labor Party to join the Republicans. Benson took second place, receiving 25% of the vote, in a race that also involved a Democrat, while Shipstead was reelected. He ran for the Senate for the last time in 1942, and was defeated by Republican Joseph H. Ball in a 4-way race.
Before ill health drove him from the public arena, Benson became a force within the short-lived Progressive Party, managing the 1948 presidential campaign of its candidate, Henry Wallace. This was the last hurrah of an outspoken statesman who lived to see many of his once-radical ideas enacted into law. He died in 1985 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is buried at the Appleton Cemetery in the town of his birth, Appleton, Minnesota.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Thomas D. Schall |
United States Senator (Class 2) from Minnesota 1935 – 1936 Served alongside: Henrik Shipstead |
Succeeded by Guy V. Howard |
| Preceded by Hjalmar Petersen |
24th Governor of Minnesota 1937 – 1939 |
Succeeded by Harold Stassen |
| Preceded by F. Ryan Duffy |
Most Senior Living U.S. Senator (Sitting or Former) August 16, 1979 - March 13, 1985 |
Succeeded by Claude Pepper |
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