The 1978 Minnesota State Auditor election was held on 7 November 1978 in order to elect the state auditor of Minnesota. Republican nominee and incumbent member of the Minnesota House of Representatives Arne Carlson defeated Democratic–Farmer–Labor nominee and incumbent state auditor Robert W. Mattson Jr. and Communist nominee Helen S. Kruth.
General election.
On election day, 7 November 1978, Republican nominee Arne Carlson won the election by a margin of 77,207 votes against his foremost opponent Democratic–Farmer–Labor nominee Robert W. Mattson Jr., thereby gaining Republican control over the office of state auditor. Carlson was sworn in as the 14th state auditor of Minnesota on 2 January 1979.
Results.
! scope="col" colspan="2" style="width: 15em" |Party
! scope="col" style="width: 17em" |Candidate
! scope="col" style="width: 5em" |Votes
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em" |%
! colspan="3" style="text-align:right;" | Total votes
References.
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