Gov.-elect Jesse Ventura shocked the world by jumping off the top rope of the wrestling ring and into the governor’s mansion. Ventura claimed he muscled over the other candidates with the strength of the youth vote.
But records released Friday indicate voters in campus precincts supported Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate Hubert H. “Skip” Humphrey III, who finished third statewide.
Humphrey garnered more than 45 percent of the vote in the six Minneapolis precincts within and around the University. Ventura and Republican Norm Coleman received 37 percent and 17.6 percent respectively.
Humphrey received 28 percent of the vote statewide while Ventura squeaked out a victory with 37 percent. Coleman, who came in second, received 34 percent statewide.
In the historically DFL neighborhood of Prospect Park, Humphrey received almost two-and-a-half times more votes than Ventura.
Humphrey also won considerable victories in the Marcy-Holmes, Seven Corners and Cedar-Riverside neighborhoods.
Ventura did, however, win the youth vote of the University. He mustered the most support in Stadium Village, a neighborhood housing four of the University’s eight dormitories, half of which are exclusively for freshmen.
Almost half of the 1,060 voting residents of Stadium Village voted for Ventura. He garnered 425 votes in Stadium Village, which saw the largest turnout of any campus-area precinct.
But exit polls statewide showed support for Ventura was high among all age groups, not just young people, said William Flanigan, a professor of political science.
“The whole thing about support from the youth and young men is misleading,” Flanigan said.
Political science professor Virginia Gray said the increase in young voter turnout was not as significant as Ventura touted.
In 1994 exit polls showed the youth turnout to be 14 percent. That number increased by only 2 percent in 1998. And yet, Ventura thinks his mandate comes from young people, Gray said.
Although receiving 34 percent of the total vote in around the state, Coleman floundered in the campus precincts, receiving only 17.6 percent. Flanigan was not surprised; he said Republicans never do well around the University.