(then the mayor of Minneapolis) in 1948. The influence of Humphrey and his supporters had grown significantly within the party between 1946 and 1948 due to Humphrey's popularity and his work through the ADA, the state farm co-ops, and support from the national arm of the CIO. Humphrey's group of supporters—which included such future DFL political stars as Arthur Naftalin, Orville Freeman, and Walter Mondale—wrested control of the DFL from Benson's supporters at a February 1948 party convention. Humphrey's later successful Senate campaign signaled a significant victory for his faction within the fledgling DFL Party and the defeat of Benson's candidates in the DFL primaries. The 1948 schism eventually led Benson and his supporters to leave the DFL. Death Before ill health drove him from the public arena, Benson became a force within the short-lived Progressive Party, managing the 1948 presidential campaign of its candidate, Henry Wallace. Benson died in 1985 in Minneapolis, and is buried at the Appleton Cemetery in the town of his birth, Appleton, Minnesota. Further reading Benson, Elmer A. "Politics in My Lifetime." Minnesota History 47 (1980): 154–60. online Haynes, John Earl. Dubious alliance: the making of Minnesota's DFL Party (U of Minnesota Press, 1984) Lovin, Hugh T. "The Fall of Farmer-Labor Parties, 1936-1938." Pacific Northwest Quarterly (1971): 16–26. in JSTOR Sofchalk, Donald G. "Union and Ethnic Group Influence in the 1938 Election on the Minnesota Iron Ranges." Journal of the West (2003) 42#3 pp: 66–74. Retrieved on 2009-5-18 References 1895 births 1985 deaths People from Appleton, Minnesota Governors of Minnesota American Lutherans United States Army soldiers United States senators from Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party United States senators Minnesota Farmer–Laborites William Mitchell College of Law alumni Minnesota lawyers United States Army personnel of World War I Farmer–Labor Party state governors of the United States Democratic Party governors of Minnesota 20th-century American politicians American political party founders 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Lutherans