in the Twin Cities, and the Fair Employment Practices Act (Minnesota was the fifth state to pass legislation on this issue). After the anti-discrimination bill passed, Andersen was greeted by an African-American, who told him that for the first time he felt like a "real man". Andersen described this moment as one of his most touching memories. In 1960, Andersen ran for governor against incumbent Democrat Orville Freeman. In 1999, he said he decided to run after hearing Freeman wish he could again call the Minnesota National Guard to bust a strike at an Albert Lea meatpacking plant, after a federal judge blocked that decision. Andersen won by more than 20,000 votes. During his term, the common loon became the Minnesota state bird, several state parks were established, and the Taconite Amendment and fair housing legislation passed. He lost reelection two years later by the closest margin in U.S. history. The election was held on November 6, 1962, but the results were not known until March 21, 1963. After recounts and court challenges, it was determined that then-Lieutenant Governor Karl Rolvaag had defeated Andersen by 91 votes out of nearly 1.3 million cast, 619,842 to 619,751. Andersen remained in the Republican Party for the rest of his life, but he became unhappy about how conservative the party became. Even in the 1960s, his views were in the minority of the party. In a 2003 interview with the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, he said, "I remind people I want to be known as a liberal Republican. If that's a dirty word, so be it." In the 2004 presidential election, he endorsed Democratic nominee John Kerry over incumbent Republican President George W. Bush. He was so disenchanted with the Bush administration that he wrote a commentary in the Minneapolis Star Tribune claiming that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney "spew outright untruths with evangelistic fervor" and calling Cheney an evil man who was the administration's real decision-maker. Unlike many other members of his party, Andersen opposed low taxes. University of Minnesota Andersen served on the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota from 1967 to 1975 and as chair from 1972 to 1975. From 1968 to 1988, he was a trustee of the University of Minnesota Foundation, presiding over it from 1978 to 1981. During the Minnesota Campaign, the University's major fundraising effort from 1985 to 1988, he played a major