Auditor, 1857 Election
General
| Candidate | Gender | Party | Votes | Percent | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Dunbar | Man | Democrat | 18,218 | 51.69 | +3.38 |
| Alexander (A.P.) Lane | Man | Republican | 17,026 | 48.31 |
While most constitutional officers were elected to two-year terms, Auditor and Supreme Court Clerk were elected to three-year terms until the 1880s.
Dunbar was a farmer from Caledonia and former territorial Representative (HD 08, 1856-1857).
Lane was a justice of the peace and notary public. Lane was one of a half-dozen Minnesotans who organized the Republican Party in the state in the spring of 1856 (along with Warren Bristol, Richard Chute, John Mann, William Marshall, and Nathaniel McLean). Lane would later switch to the Greenback Party and received its nomination for Secretary of State in 1879 and Lieutenant Governor in 1881.
Sources
- The Faribault Herald, December 24, 1857 (p. 2). The Chatfield Democrat, December 30, 1857 (p. 2).