The 1962 Minnesota gubernatorial election was the closest statewide race in Minnesota history and one of the closest gubernatorial elections in American history. The election was held on November 6, 1962, but the results were not known until March 21, 1963. The vote count after election day had Governor Elmer L. Andersen in the lead by 142 votes. Then-Lieutenant Governor Karl Rolvaag went to court and won the right for a recount.[1] After the recount, it was determined that Rolvaag of the DFL had defeated Andersen, Republican, by 91 votes out of over 1.2 million cast. Rolvaag collected 619,842 votes to Andersen's 619,751.
At that time governors and lieutenant governors were elected on separate ballots. Thus the incumbent governor was a Republican while the lieutenant governor was a Democrat. The 1962 election was also the first four-year term election for Minnesota governor.
