Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party

Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) was officially formed on April 15, 1944, the result of a merger of the existing Democratic Party and the Farmer-Labor Party. Although the two entities had competed vigorously throughout their pasts, they had been brought into closer harmony through their mutual support of New Deal programs, through Popular Front collaborations during World War II, and through a realistic acceptance of the fact that they were effectively splitting the state's liberal vote, and thereby aiding in the election of Republican Party candidates for state and federal offices. The merged party became the Minnesota arm of the national Democratic Party.

Leading the merger effort were Elmer Kelm, the head of the Minnesota Democratic Party; Elmer Benson, effectively the head of the Farmer-Labor Party by virtue of his leadership of its dominant left-wing faction; and rising star Hubert H. Humphrey, who chaired the Fusion Committee that accomplished the union and then went on to chair its first state convention. After considerable infighting over the next few years, Humphrey successfully led the anti-communist wing of the DFL into a position of party dominance, effectively excluding the Popular Front faction from 1948 onward.

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