[6] On August 1, 1944, Fred Wheeler of Custer was unopposed and nominated for Attorney General at the Democratic Convention in Aberdeen.

[3] Mickelson ran as a favorite-son candidate in the 1952 South Dakota presidential primary, supporting Dwight D. Eisenhower's national bid, and lost narrowly to Eisenhower's chief rival, Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio.

[8] Mickelson received a recess appointment from President Dwight D. Eisenhower on December 9, 1953, to the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota, to a new seat authorized by 65 Stat.

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 9, 1954, and received his commission the next day.

They are the only father and son duo to serve in that office in the history of South Dakota.

[11] His grandson Mark Mickelson served as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the South Dakota State Legislature from 2017 to 2018.

[citation needed] Mickelson died on February 28, 1965,[3] and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.