# Jesse Ventura *American politician, actor and former professional wrestler who served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003* Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos, July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor and retired professional wrestler. He held office as the 38th [[Governor of Minnesota]] from 1999 to 2003.[^1] He won the governorship as the Reform Party nominee, and no other Reform Party candidate has won a major government office. Before that, he was mayor of Brooklyn Park from 1991 to 1995.[^1] In the general election of November 3, 1998, Ventura won a three-way race. He defeated the Republican nominee, St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman, and the Democratic-Farmer-Labor nominee, Attorney General Hubert H. "Skip" Humphrey III ([[Skip Humphrey]]).[^2] He took office in January 1999. The project's time table records him as the first third-party governor in modern [[Minnesota]] history.[^3] The state personnel statute [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] stayed in operation through his term. The project's time table records that in 2001 the statute entered its 20th year without constitutional challenge, under its third consecutive governor.[^4] The project's master account, *[[How Minnesota Got Here]]*, states that the one administration "elected explicitly against the political machine (Ventura) operated it at unchanged output."[^5] In January 2026, the United States sued the State under [[Title VII]]. Its complaint cites §43A.191 eight times.[^6] ## Early life Ventura was born in [[Minneapolis]] to George William Janos and Bernice Martha (née Lenz), who had both served in World War II. He finished Roosevelt High School in 1969.[^1] ## Navy Ventura was in the United States Navy from December 1, 1969, to September 10, 1975. He completed BUD/S class 58 in December 1970 and served with Underwater Demolition Team 12 on active duty. As a reservist, he was assigned to SEAL Team One from 1973 through 1975.[^1] His decorations were the Vietnam Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Navy Expeditionary Medal.[^1] A former Navy SEAL officer later said that Ventura had been a UDT frogman and not a SEAL. Ventura's office confirmed his UDT membership, and his spokesman said Ventura had never claimed otherwise.[^1] ## Professional wrestling career Ventura wrestled as a heel from 1975 to 1986. His ring name was Jesse "The Body" Ventura. In the American Wrestling Association, he and Adrian Adonis won the AWA World Tag Team Championship by forfeit on July 20, 1980.[^1] He then spent many years with the WWF/WWE as a performer and color commentator. He entered the WWE Hall of Fame with the class of 2004.[^1] ## Acting career Ventura's film work includes *Predator* (1987), *The Running Man* and *Demolition Man*.[^1] ## Political career ### Mayor of Brooklyn Park In 1990, Ventura ran for mayor of Brooklyn Park and unseated the city's mayor of 18 years. He held the post from 1991 to 1995. For much of that time, he also worked as a color commentator for WCW.[^1] ### Governor of Minnesota Ventura was the Reform Party of Minnesota's candidate for governor in 1998. His campaign spent about $300,000, well below his opponents. It combined grassroots events with television spots built on the line "Don't vote for politics as usual."[^1] His running mate was a teacher, [[Mae Schunk]].[^1] On the DFL side, the party's 1998 endorsement went to Michael O. Freeman, then [[Hennepin County Attorney]]. Freeman lost the primary to Humphrey, according to the Legislative Reference Library legislator record and Minnesota Historical Society finding aid cited in the project's dossier.[^7][^8] The Secretary of State's historical data record Ventura's win on November 3, 1998.[^2] The time table notes that Coleman went on to win the U.S. Senate seat held by Paul Wellstone in 2002.[^2] Ventura was inaugurated in January 1999.[^3] He issued Executive Order 99-12 on May 3, 1999, concerning a Governor's Council on Minnesota's Lake Superior coastal area.[^9] About a year into his term, he left the Reform Party amid disputes over control of the party. He finished his term as a member of the Independence Party of Minnesota.[^1] His administration oversaw property-tax reform and the state's first sales tax rebate. It also cut income taxes and began building the METRO Blue Line light rail.[^1] Ventura did not seek a second term. Republican [[Tim Pawlenty]] succeeded him on January 6, 2003.[^1] ## Other endeavors After his term, Ventura was a visiting fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. MSNBC began his weekly program *Jesse Ventura's America* in October 2003 and dropped it within a few months. He later hosted political programs on RT America and Ora TV.[^1] ## Personal life Ventura married Terry on July 18, 1975, and they have two children, Tyrel and Jade. The couple divide their time between White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### When - November 3, 1998: Ventura elected governor over Coleman (R) and Humphrey (DFL).[^2] - January 1999: Ventura inaugurated.[^3] - May 3, 1999: Executive Order 99-12 issued.[^9] - 2001: According to the time table, §43A.191 entered its 20th year without constitutional challenge, operating under Ventura as its third consecutive governor.[^4] - January 6, 2003: Ventura succeeded by Tim Pawlenty (R).[^1] - December 2015: According to the time table, §43A.191 entered its 34th year. By then it had operated under five governors: Perpich, Carlson, Ventura, Pawlenty and Dayton (DFL).[^4] - January 14, 2026: The United States filed its Title VII complaint against the State, which cites §43A.191.[^6] ### Who The time table names five governors under whom §43A.191 operated through 2015.[^4] The pack gives the party of three of them: Ventura (Reform), Pawlenty (Republican) and Dayton (DFL).[^1][^4] *How Minnesota Got Here* states that the architecture "was built by nine administrations of three parties" and that "no current official designed it."[^5] It describes Ventura's administration as having operated that architecture at unchanged output.[^5] ### What The [[United States Department of Justice]] filed *[[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]]*, No. 0:26-cv-00273, in the District of Minnesota on January 14, 2026. The suit is brought under Title VII of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].[^6] The complaint cites Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 eight times. One of those citations is to subdivision 3(c), which requires an agency to explain why it hired a non-affirmative candidate.[^6] The pack records no ruling on the complaint's allegations. DOJ's Office of Public Affairs announced the suit in release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^10] The federal government has used the word "regime" in statute for governments it opposes. For example, the [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-338) states a policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein."[^11] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages finds Minnesota the only U.S. state so described.[^11] In *[[Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services]]*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025), the Supreme Court held that Title VII's disparate-treatment provision "draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs."[^12] The Court also rejected the Sixth Circuit's heightened "background circumstances" rule for majority-group plaintiffs.[^12] ### How much - 1998 campaign spending: about $300,000, according to the Wikipedia article. The pack carries no campaign-finance filing for the figure.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Jesse Ventura* (revision 1381381157, retrieved October 25, 2026) — Ventura's biography, military service, wrestling, acting, offices, party changes, campaign and post-office career. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura [^2]: Minnesota Secretary of State, *Historical Election Data* (cited by project time table rows TL-0674 and TL-0676) — November 3, 1998 gubernatorial result; Coleman's later Senate win. https://www.sos.state.mn.us/election-administration-campaigns/data-maps/historical-election-data/ [^3]: Minnesota Secretary of State (cited by project time table row TL-0682) — Ventura's January 1999 inauguration as first third-party governor in modern Minnesota history. https://www.sos.state.mn.us/ [^4]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. § 43A.191* (cited by project time table rows TL-0708 and TL-0838) — the statute's text; the rows' record of its years in operation and the governors under whom it operated. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/43A.191 [^5]: *How Minnesota Got Here* (merged master, footnoted; validated June 12, 2026), §3 and ADM-6 — the inheritance reading; Ventura administration "operated it at unchanged output." (Project document; no public URL in the pack.) [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) — Title VII action citing Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 eight times, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^7]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Michael O. Freeman* — Freeman's offices; cited in the project dossier for the 1998 DFL endorsement and primary (source graded S). https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10197 [^8]: Minnesota Historical Society, *finding aid 00531* — cited in the project dossier for Freeman's 1998 DFL endorsement and primary loss to Humphrey (source graded S). https://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00531.xml [^9]: Office of the Governor (via Minnesota Legislative Reference Library), *Executive Order 99-12* (May 3, 1999) — Ventura order concerning a Governor's Council on Minnesota's Lake Superior coastal area. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/archive/execorders/99-12.pdf [^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — DOJ's announcement and the Attorney General's certification. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^11]: U.S. Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 (1998) — statutory use of "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein"; cited by the project's catalogue (How Minnesota Got Here, note 40). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf [^12]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025) — Title VII disparate-treatment holding; rejection of the "background circumstances" rule. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf