1902 Minnesota gubernatorial election

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The 1902 Minnesota gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1902. Incumbent Republican Samuel Rinnah Van Sant defeated Democrat Leonard A. Rosing. It was the last election in which the Populist Party fielded a candidate.

Democratic convention and nomination
- On June 25, 1902, the Democratic State Convention met. John Lind initially hoped to be the nominee but declined.
- State Senator John Albert Johnson also declined, believing he couldn’t beat Van Sant and that he was too young.
- Other hopefuls entered the race. Leonard A. Rosing, Charles O. Baldwin, and F. D. Larrabie competed in the primary.
- Lind was renominated, but the motion to renominate him was ruled out of order. Larrabie and Baldwin withdrew, and Rosing was nominated.
- Rosing said he would “rather run as a Democrat to certain defeat than to victory as a Republican.”

Republican convention and nomination
- At the Republican State Convention on July 1, 1902, Van Sant was nominated for a second term unanimously.
- Tams Bixby had been considered but said he wouldn’t run and endorsed Van Sant.
- The convention ended with Senator Knute Nelson ceremonially firing a gun.

Populists
- The Populist Party did not endorse Rosing. They nominated Thomas J. Meighen.
- Populist Ole O. Sageng noted that in 1894 the Populist ticket had drawn more votes than the Democrats.

Campaign
- In October, a coal miners’ strike occurred. While Van Sant was in Chicago, a newspaper accused him of opposing the strikes. He clarified by telegram that he had not made that statement and condemned the coal barons for not negotiating.
- Lind and Rosing campaigned together and praised Theodore Roosevelt’s progressive policies. Roosevelt was popular with labor voters, and Rosing tried to link his positions to Roosevelt.
- Van Sant campaigned across the state, ending in Eveleth on November 1, aiming to win labor votes.

Polls and betting
- Election betting was common. Judge Robert Jamison predicted Van Sant would win by about 10,000 votes, but the actual margin was much larger.
- The Populists predicted they would win around 40,000 votes, which proved to be far too optimistic.

Results
- Van Sant (Republican) won with 155,849 votes (57.53%).
- Rosing (Democratic) received 99,362 votes (36.68%).
- The Populist Party did not gain significant support.

Governor before and after
- Before the election: Samuel Rinnah Van Sant (Republican) was the governor.
- After the election: Samuel Rinnah Van Sant (Republican) remained governor.