Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party

The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is a political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is affiliated with the U.S. Democratic Party. Formed by a merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the left-wing Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party in 1944, the DFL is one of only two state Democratic party affiliates of a different name (the other being the North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party).

"DFL" redirects here. For other uses, see DFL (disambiguation).

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
AbbreviationDFL
ChairpersonKen Martin
Governor of MinnesotaTim Walz
Lieutenant Governor of MinnesotaPeggy Flanagan
Senate Minority LeaderSusan Kent
House SpeakerMelissa Hortman
FoundedApril 15, 1944 (1944-04-15)
Merger ofMinnesota Democratic Party and Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party
Headquarters255 Plato Boulevard East
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Youth wingMinnesota Young DFL (MYDFL)
IdeologyModern liberalism
Social liberalism
Social democracy
National affiliationDemocratic Party
Colors     Blue
Senate
32 / 67
House of Representatives
75 / 134
Statewide Executive Offices
5 / 5
U.S. Senate
2 / 2
U.S. House of Representatives
5 / 8
Website
www.dfl.org

History
DFL logo used on a lectern at the 2006 DFL state convention.
DFL 2006 state convention registration desk.

The DFL was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the larger Farmer–Labor Party. Leading the merger effort were Elmer Kelm, the head of the Minnesota Democratic Party and founding chairman of the DFL; 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.

By the party's second convention, in 1946, tensions had re-emerged between members of the two former parties. While the majority of delegates supported left-wing Farmer Labor policies, Humphrey managed to install a more conservative ally, Orville Freeman, as party secretary. Through a combination of procedural maneuvering and red-baiting, they were able to gain control of the party by 1948 and former Farmer-Labor leaders like Benson moved to the Progressive Party or left politics.[1]

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 U.S. senator who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968 as an anti-Vietnam War candidate; and Paul Wellstone, a U.S. senator from 1991 to 2002 who became an icon of populist progressivism.[2]

Current elected officials

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

Democrats have controlled both of Minnesota's seats in the U.S. Senate since 2008:

U.S. House of Representatives

Out of the 8 seats Minnesota is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, 5 are held by Democrats:

Statewide officials

Democrats control all five of the elected statewide offices:

State legislative leaders

Current leadership
  • Chair: Ken Martin (2011–Present)
  • Vice Chair: Marge Hoffa (2011–Present)
  • Treasurer: Tyler Moroles (2017–Present)
  • Secretary: Adi Penugonda (2019–Present)
  • Outreach Officer: Shivanthi Sathanandan (2015–Present)

See also

References
  1. Nathanson, Iric (February 26, 2016). "The caucus that changed history: 1948's battle for control of the DFL". Minnesota Post.
  2. Loughlin, Sean (October 25, 2002). "Wellstone Made Mark as a Liberal Champion". CNN. Retrieved June 23, 2014.

Further reading
  • Delton, Jennifer A. Making Minnesota Liberal: Civil Rights and the Transformation of the Democratic Party. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002.
  • Haynes, John Earl. "Farm Coops and the Election of Hubert Humphrey to the Senate". Agricultural History 57, no. 2 (Fall 1983).
  • Haynes, John Earl. Dubious Alliance: The Making of Minnesota's DFL Party. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984.
  • Henrickson, Gary P. Minnesota in the 'McCarthy' Period": 1946–1954. Ph.D. diss. University of Minnesota, 1981.
  • Lebedoff, David. The 21st Ballot: A Political Party Struggle in Minnesota. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1969.
  • Lebedoff, David. Ward Number Six. New York: Scribner, 1972. Discusses the entry of radicals into the DFL party in 1968.
  • Mitau, G. Theodore (Spring 1955). "The Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Schism of 1948" (PDF). Minnesota History. 34 (5): 187–194. JSTOR 20175887.
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