April 28, 1943:

Harold Stassen (R) resigns as governor of Minnesota to enter the Navy as a lieutenant commander.

Elected in 1938 to the first of his three two-year terms -- at the age of 31 -- Stassen was considered a boy wonder in Minnesota politics with a great future. But he would never win another race, a career that included nine bids for the GOP presidential nomination. He came closest in 1948, where he lost to eventual nominee Thomas Dewey, the governor of New York.

The end of his political influence came in 1956, when he publicly called on Vice President Richard Nixon to leave the ticket, a decision not shared by President Eisenhower.

Today in Campaign History is a daily feature on Political Junkie.

categories: Today In Campaign History

8:59 - April 28, 2009

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