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  Carlson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Perpich: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Minnesota |
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The 1990 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990. Independent-Republican Party Auditor Arne Carlson defeated incumbent Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Governor Rudy Perpich. This remains the last gubernatorial election in Minnesota to date in which an incumbent governor ran for reelection to a third consecutive term.
Primary elections were held on September 11. Perpich defeated a challenge from Mike Hatch for the DFL nomination. The Independent-Republicans initially nominated businessman Jon Grunseth over Carlson, but Grunseth withdrew in late October following a series of allegations of sexual misconduct against children and extramarital affairs. Carlson, who had launched a write-in campaign against both Perpich and Grunseth, was named the replacement nominee by default as the runner-up in the primary.
Carlson won the election by winning the heavily populated Ramsey and Hennepin counties. However, the race was kept close by Perpich's domination of the counties in Northern Minnesota, allowing for a margin of defeat of only 3.35%. As of 2025, this is the last time that an incumbent Governor of Minnesota lost re-election. This election was the first Minnesota gubernatorial election since 1962 that the winner of the gubernatorial election was of the same party as the incumbent president.