page_title: Politics of Minnesota
section_title: Orville Freeman
hierarchical_section_title: Politics of Minnesota / Historical figures of note / Orville Freeman
context_page_description: Minnesota is known for a politically active citizenry, with populism being a longstanding force among the state's political parties. Minnesota has consistently high voter turnout; in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, 77.8% of eligible Minnesotans voted – the highest percentage of any U.S. state or territory – versus the national average of 61.7%. This was due in part to its same day voter registration laws; previously unregistered voters can register on election day, at their polls, with evidence of residency.
  The major political parties are the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, and the Republican Party of Minnesota. The DFL was founded in 1944 when the Minnesota Democratic Party and Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party merged. The party is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Supporters of the DFL are often referred to as "DFLers" in Minnesota by both members and non-members of the party as an alternative to "Democrats." The state Republican Party is affiliated with the national Republican Party.
context_section_description: Orville Freeman (May 9, 1918 – February 20, 2003) was a co-founder and chairman of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party and a three-term Governor of Minnesota, the first from the DFL. Freeman served as United States Secretary of Agriculture under presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He recognized that needy people were starving just as grain surpluses had driven prices down. Freeman advocated farm exports and supported controls on production sometimes idling farm land for years. Freeman worked toward the pilot school breakfast program and is most often remembered for today's U.S. Food Stamp Program.
caption: Walter Mondale
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