Born into poverty in New York City, he attended the Choate Rosemary Hall preparatory school on a scholarship.

[2] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Williams College in 1957 before taking graduate courses at the University of Minnesota.

[3][4] Carlson served one term on the Minneapolis City Council from 1965 to 1967, and was the Republican nominee for mayor in 1967, losing to Democratic-Farmer-Labor incumbent Arthur Naftalin.

He also overhauled the state's multi-billion-dollar pension investment portfolio to allow private sector management, which significantly improved the rate of return.

Carlson's long tenure as auditor, in addition to his noted speaking abilities, made him a leading contender for the Republican nomination in 1990.

But although he initially led in public opinion surveys, his status as a moderate or even liberal Republican made him unpopular among party activists.

[5][6] They instead backed Carlson's primary rival, businessman Jon Grunseth, a younger and more right-wing candidate who had never held elected office.

[5][6] On October 15, 1990, with 15 days of campaigning left before Election Day, Carlson revived his campaign for governor as a write-in candidate, and took part in an unusual three-way debate broadcast by Twin Cities Public Television,[6][5] which became the highest-rated locally produced program in the station's history.

[8] Grunseth initially refused to drop out, thus splitting the Republican vote and providing an opportunity for Perpich to win reelection.

That same year he signed into law the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which banned LGBT discrimination in housing, employment, and education.

[14] Carlson won the November 1994 general election by a large margin, 63% to 34%, over Democratic nominee John Marty.

That led to projects ranging from building a molecular and cellular Biology Center to major renovations and upgrades to Walter Library.

In 1999, after leaving office, Carlson was appointed to the board of directors of the IDS Mutual Fund Group, which was part of the American Express Financial Advisors, a Minneapolis-based company.

In 2010, he announced that he would embark on a "Paul Revere" tour of Minnesota to bring attention to the state's fiscal problems.

[18] In a 2001 MPR-St. Paul Pioneer Press poll Carlson ranked second (behind Hubert Humphrey) among prominent Minnesota political figures for their contributions to the state.

In 2012, he teamed up with his former rival, John Marty, to support legislation that would prohibit corporations with more than 20% foreign ownership from donating to political campaigns, and to require board of directors or executive councils to approve political contributions made by the corporation or union, rather than allowing executives or presidents to make such contributions unilaterally.