1875 Minnesota gubernatorial election

The 1875 Minnesota gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1875, to elect the governor of Minnesota. Incumbent Republican Cushman Kellogg Davis was not seeking another term.

Candidates

David L. Buell, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
John S. Pillsbury, businessman
Ramson F. Humiston, founder of Worthington, Minnesota

Campaigns

On July 7, 1875, the Party-Colored Convention was held, a coalition of Democrats, Liberal Republicans, Anti-Monopolists, and all those opposed to the Republican Party of Minnesota. Democrat David L. Buell was nominated on the first ballot. Buell's reputation with the public soured in early september, as his alleged business practices became known. Buell was a known moneylender, and would set interest rates as high as he could, intending to take as much money from his clients as he so demanded. This claims were disproven, however did harm his reputation.
Pillsbury, upon announcing he was running, was seen as a long-shot and unlikely candidate. Pillsbury would be nominated by the Republican State Convention on July 28, 1875, on the first ballot, after defeating primary challengers Horace Austin and Jacob H. Stewart.