The 1986 Minnesota State Auditor election was held on 4 November 1986 in order to elect the State Auditor of Minnesota. Independent Republican nominee and incumbent State Auditor Arne Carlson defeated Democratic–Farmer–Labor nominee John Dooley.
As of 2025 this is the most recent election of which the incumbent Auditor won a third term.
General election.
On election day, 4 November 1986, Independent Republican nominee Arne Carlson won re-election by a margin of 138,306 votes against his opponent Democratic–Farmer–Labor nominee John Dooley, thereby retaining Republican control over the office of state auditor. Carlson was sworn in for his third term on 3 January 1987.
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.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;