Politics & Government
Extra! Extra! Minnesota Delegates Help GOP Presidential Candidate Clinch Nomination
In 1952, a last-minute switch among Minnesota delegates to the Republican National Convention propelled Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to capture the Republican nomination for president.
July 18, 1952: While they might not have realized it at the time, the Minnesota delegation to the Republican National Convention in 1952 played a significant role in determining the next president of the United States.
Twenty-eight Minnesotans ventured to Chicago in July that year to cast their votes, with a choice between Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Minnesota's own Harold Stassen.
Their original split was 19 for Eisenhower, nine for Stassen, which likely would've propelled Ike to victory anyway, but "at the crucial moment," the nine Stassen-ers switched their votes, which clinched the nomination for Eisenhower, the Dakota County Tribune reported at the time.
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In November, Eisenhower won by a mile (or maybe more), with 442 electoral votes to Democrat Adlai Stevenson's 89, and about 55 percent of the popular vote to Stevenson's 44.
You can check out more events, exhibits and archives at the Dakota County Historical Society, 130 Third Ave. N., South St. Paul. will post a local history item each week.
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