Postcard, Special State Senate Campaign, 1949"I meant it when I told my Fuller colleagues after the disappointing 1948 election that I was through with politics for awhile, but I had not abandoned my goal of someday running for the legislature. I still loved the human interplay of politics, the competitive struggle for power, the premium put on ingenuity and resourcefulness. But I was not interested in running against [Charles N.] Orr or [Claude] Allen. In January 1949, at the start of a new legislative session, it did not appear that either of those two legislative titans would step aside anytime soon. Then, on January 10, Orr had a heart attack while driving to work, and died. A special election was called for February 8, just a month later….Immediately, I began to think about filing. A number of my fellow Republican Party workers urged me to run….Eleanor and I talked it over. She said, 'You've had this on your mind for so long, you'd better do it.' That sealed it. I decided to run."
Image courtesy Minnesota Historical Society
"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.
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