Almanac: At the Capitol

Elmer Benson (10/25/07)

Elmer Benson was a radical. There's no other way to put it. Benson was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1935 by his long-time mentor Floyd B. Olson. In 1936 he jumped from the U.S. Senate to the Minnesota Governor's office when Olson made a run for the Senate. Benson was a Farmer-Laborite with a heavy dose of radical populism. As governor for one term, Benson proposed higher taxes on the wealthy and called out the National Guard on behalf of striking workers. Benson lost re-election in 1938 and lived almost another half century. In the early 80s Benson was featured on the KTCA program "Nighttimes." In the excerpt from this show, Benson talks about — among other things — his strong dislike of J. Edgar Hoover.