The Democrats had not won the governorship in Minnesota from 1860 until nearly 1900 when John Lind was elected Governor in 1898 in a union ticket with the People's Party.

[5] Three days later, former Speaker of the Minnesota House William E. Lee and Lieutenant Governor Sam Y. Gordon threw their hats in the ring.

[6] At an event in Browns Valley, Gordon characterized his run for governor "as a challenge of the right of... [business] interests to dominate public affairs, and to dictate party policies."

In early February, Lewis C. Spooner, a more traditional Republican, was reportedly encouraging Edwin H. Canfield, a former state senator from Luverne, to run for governor and take votes from Eberhart.

[7][8] Starting in May, non-binding Republican county conventions showed deep distaste for the incumbent governor.

[9] After the passage of the bill calling for Minnesota's first statewide primary, Edward Young, of Appleton, announced his candidacy for the governorship in late June.

"[14] In late August, as the primary date approached, progressive Republicans worried that their candidates were splitting the anti-Eberhart vote.

[15] The final days of the campaign were marked with controversy over the second-choice provision and endorsements from various groups and politicians.

[31] They also expressed confidence that then-Congressman Winfield Scott Hammond would be a good candidate for governor, though they would settle for Ringdal as a decent second choice.

In April, the Minneapolis Democratic Party endorsed Charles M. Andrist, a French language professor at the University of Minnesota.

[34] The Democratic organization in Minnesota asked Andrist to withdraw and support Ringdal to boost their chances of winning in the general election.

However, their attempt to crowd out Andrist seems to have emboldened another professor, who told many that he had decided to run for governor: Peter M. Magnusson of St.

[36] He never officially filed, however, and did not appear on primary ballots.Representative government without direct popular control of its politics is a relic of an age that is gone.

His platform supported popular reforms such as initiative and referendum, workmen's compensation, and a progressive tax structure.

[37] Though Andrist, Ringdal's only competitor, was understood to be a man of "high character," he remained an unknown entity whose platform was not well-known and who was without a particularly organized campaign.