 Hubert Humphrey was a Minnesotan who became a nationally prominent politician . He first ran for mayor of Minneapolis in 1943 , but lost the election to the Republican candidate by just a few thousand votes . As a Democrat , Humphrey recognized that his best chance for political success was to obtain the support of the Minnesota Farmer @-@ Labor Party . Other members of the Farmer @-@ Labor Party had been considering the idea , as encouraged by Franklin D. Roosevelt , but the merger only became reality after Humphrey traveled to Washington , D.C. to discuss the issue . Rather than simply absorbing the Farmer @-@ Labor party , with its constituency of 200 @,@ 000 voters , Humphrey suggested calling the party the Minnesota Democratic @-@ Farmer @-@ Labor Party . He was elected mayor of Minneapolis in 1945 , and one of his first actions was to propose an ordinance making racial discrimination by employers subject to a fine . This ordinance was adopted in 1947 , and although few fines were issued , the city 's banks and department stores realized that public relations would improve by hiring blacks in increasing numbers . Humphrey delivered an impassioned speech at the 1948 Democratic National Convention encouraging the party to adopt a civil rights plank in their platform . He was elected to the United States Senate in 1948 and was re @-@ elected in 1954 and 1960 . 
