Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party

Democratic–Farmer–Labour Party
Chairman Ken Martin
Senate leader Tom Bakk
House leader Paul Thissen
Founded April 15, 1944
Headquarters 255 Plato Blvd E
Saint Paul, MN 55107-1623
Ideology

Centre-Left

American Liberalism
Progressivism
Agrarianism
Populism
National affiliation Democratic Party
Seats in the Upper House
30 / 67
Seats in the Lower House
62 / 134
Website
www.dfl.org
Politics of the United States
Political parties
Elections

The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labour Party (DFL) is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party. Leading the merger effort were Elmer Kelm, the head of the Minnesota Democratic Party and founding chairman of the DFL party; Elmer Benson, effectively the head of the Farmer-Labor Party by virtue of his leadership of its dominant left-wing faction; and rising star Hubert H. Humphrey, who chaired the Fusion Committee that accomplished the union and then went on to chair its first state convention. Members of the party are frequently referred to as "DFLers".

Orville Freeman was elected the state's first DFL governor in 1954. Important members of the party have included Minneapolis mayor Hubert H. Humphrey and Minnesota Attorney General Walter Mondale, who each went on to be United States Senators, Vice Presidents of the United States, and unsuccessful Democratic nominees for president, Humphrey in 1968 and Mondale in 1984; Eugene McCarthy, a Senator who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968 as an anti-Vietnam War candidate; and Paul Wellstone, a Senator from 1991–2002 who became an icon of populist progressivism.[1] The party's headquarters are in Saint Paul.

Contents

Candidates in 2010

Open seats

Challengers

Incumbents

Current elected officials

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

U.S. House of Representatives

Statewide offices

State Legislature

Current leadership

See also

References

  1. ^ Loughlin, Sean (2002-08-25). "Wellstone Made Mark as a Liberal Champion". CNN Washington Bureau. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/25/elec02.mn.s.wellstone.obit. Retrieved 2007-08-31. 

External links

Further reading