Politics | MNopedia

Governorship of Jesse Ventura

In November 1998 Jesse Ventura, a former professional wrestler and sometime movie actor, was elected governor of Minnesota after defeating the much better-known and better-financed candidates of the two traditional major parties. He won with the lowest plurality of any Minnesota governor, 37 percent of the vote, on the ticket of the Reform Party, a tiny organization with no track record of victory. His single term was one of controversy, and media reports focused more on his pursuits of money and celebrity than on his policies, which were mostly mainstream.

Governor Jesse Ventura at the Great Wall of China

Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura speaks to reporters at the Great Wall of China on June 9, 2002. Photo by John Currie.

Jesse Ventura speaking

Jesse Ventura speaking to the Minnesota YMCA Youth In Government Model Assembly, 2000. The assembly met on the House floor inside the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user venturaYIG. CC BY-SA 2.0

Jesse Ventura St. Patrick’s Day card

St. Patrick’s Day card with a cartoon of Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, ca. 1999/2000. The text reads, on the front side, “After a glass of St. Patrick’s Day cheer…” and finishes on the inside, “...the streets of St. Paul become perfectly clear!” Ventura had appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman in 1999 and commented that the streets of St. Paul must have been laid out by drunken Irishmen.

Governor Jesse Ventura with Tech. Sgt. Byron Todd

Governor Jesse Ventura (center left) greets Tech. Sgt. Byron Todd of the Minnesota Air National Guard as he prepares to deploy to Ramstein Air Base in Germany on April 13, 1999.

Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura in 1996. Photo by John Matthew Smith. CC BY-SA 2.0

Official portrait of Governor Jesse Ventura

Official portrait of Governor Jesse Ventura. Created in 2003 by Jasper Seating Company.

Civic Caucus

The Civic Caucus is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy organization that serves as a forum for citizens to learn, analyze, and debate critical public issues in Minnesota. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Minneapolis, the caucus has conducted nearly 600 interviews with civic and business leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, elected officials, researchers, academics, and other thought leaders from Minnesota and around the United States to glean their expert knowledge on policy challenges.

Civic Caucus event with No Labels Minnesota

The Civic Caucus co-conducts its “The Politics of Problem Solving” event with No Labels Minnesota at the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis. Used with permission.

Civic Caucus interview panel at the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis

The Civic Caucus interview panel conducts an interview at the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis. Photograph by Janis Clay, January 15, 2018. Used with permission.

Gale Family Library