November 6, 1998
Jesse (the Body) Ventura, that is, the new governor of Minnesota.
Former pro wrestler. Former Navy Seal. Who took out a $300,000 loan to finance his campaign. Who was outspent 3 to 1 by Democrat opponent Hubert Humphrey the 3rd and 5 to 1 by Republican Norman Coleman, mayor of St. Paul.
And still Ventura won this week with 37 percent of the vote.
Why? I asked Burdett Loomis, University of Kansas professor of political science.
Because of the Body's tremendous appeal to young males, he said. They got out and voted.
"We want young people to take part in the electoral process," Loomis said. "Well, this time they did."
But why did they take part?
"Because Jesse's a libertarian," he said, "and so are many young people. They've got a live-and-let-live streak."
And why else did Ventura win?
The opposition, he said. "Collectively, the electorate isn't stupid. They saw this mayor of St. Paul, Coleman, who was an empty-suit, big-smile kind of guy. They saw Skip Humphrey, a second-generation politician -- also a pretty grey guy.
"Oddly enough, Jesse, the former wrestler with a feather boa, came across as the real human being in this race."
And why else did people vote for Ventura?
Because Minnesota is iconoclastic in temperament, he said. Remember Eugene McCarthy, the guy who had no chance but ran against Lyndon Johnson anyway in 1968? Who wrote poetry and said sardonic things, instead of being all sincere, like politicians are supposed to be? And who didn't show up at press conferences if he didn't want to?
And are there other reasons Minnesotans elected Ventura, Professor Loomis? I asked.
Maybe because they'd already had filled their political portfolio with fairly conservative stocks -- a predictable legislature and bureaucracy -- and they felt pretty good about things, so they gambled on a high-flyer, he said.
Any other reasons?
Because the winters are long up there, he said, and maybe they needed some entertainment. Remember Marge, that sheriff in the movie Fargo? She might not have voted for Jesse Ventura, but she would have thought about it.
And could it have been a protest vote? Could it be that people had enough bread in their bellies, so they decided to vote for a circus?
He said, "Everyone's got these bumper stickers that say, 'Question Authority' and all we do is elect incumbents. Well, the people of Minnesota questioned authority."
Final question, Professor Loomis: Are we having fun?
"Maybe we won't have fun for all four years," he said.
He thought for a minute.
"But maybe we will."
Story by Roger Martin