The 1881 Minnesota State Auditor election was held on 8 November 1881 in order to elect the state auditor of Minnesota. Republican nominee and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives William W. Braden defeated Democratic nominee Rudolph Lehmicke, Greenback nominee Ebenezer Ayres and Prohibition nominee G.A. Armstrong.
General election.
On election day, 8 November 1881, Republican nominee William W. Braden won the election by a margin of 29,463 votes against his foremost opponent Democratic nominee Rudolph Lehmicke, thereby retaining Republican control over the office of state auditor. Braden was sworn in as the 4th state auditor of Minnesota on 10 January 1882.
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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