Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura
Ventura in 2024
38th Governor of Minnesota
In office
January 4, 1999 – January 6, 2003
LieutenantMae Schunk
Preceded byArne Carlson
Succeeded byTim Pawlenty
Mayor of Brooklyn Park
In office
January 11, 1991 – January 13, 1995
Preceded byJames Krautkremer
Succeeded byGrace Arbogast
Personal details
Born
James George Janos

(1951-07-15) July 15, 1951 (age 73)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyIndependent (1969–1998,[citation needed] 2003–present)
Other political
affiliations
Spouse
Theresa Larson Masters
​
​
(m. 1975)​
Children2
Residence(s)White Bear Lake, Minnesota, U.S.
Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico
EducationNorth Hennepin Community College
Occupation
  • Politician
  • actor
  • professional wrestler
  • television presenter
  • author
  • commentator
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1969–1975
Rank Petty officer third class
Battles/warsVietnam War
Awards National Defense Service Medal
WebsiteWWE.com profile
Ring name(s)Jesse "The Body" Ventura[1][2]
Surf Ventura[3]
Billed height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[4]
Billed weight245 lb (111 kg)[4]
Billed fromSan Diego, California
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota[4]
Trained byEddie Sharkey[1]
Debut1974[2]
Retired1986[2]
Preview warning: Page using Template:Listen with empty filename #1

Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation, he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. He was elected governor with the Reform Party and is the party's only candidate to win a major government office.

Ventura was a member of the United States Navy Underwater Demolition Team during the Vietnam War.[5] After leaving the military, he embarked on a professional wrestling career as a heel from 1975 to 1986, taking the ring name "Jesse 'the Body' Ventura."[6] He had a lengthy tenure in the WWF/WWE as a performer and color commentator and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004.[1] In addition to wrestling, Ventura pursued an acting career, appearing in films such as Predator and The Running Man.

Ventura entered politics in 1991 when he was elected mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, a position he held until 1995. He was the Reform Party candidate in the 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election, running a low-budget campaign centered on grassroots events and unusual advertising that urged citizens not to "vote for politics as usual". In a major upset, Ventura defeated both the Democratic and Republican nominees. Amid internal fights for control over the party, Ventura left the Reform Party a year after taking office and served the remainder of his term as a member of the Independence Party of Minnesota. Since holding public office, Ventura has referred to himself as a "statesman" instead of a politician.[7]

As governor, Ventura oversaw reforms of Minnesota's property tax as well as the state's first sales tax rebate. Other initiatives he took included construction of the METRO Blue Line light rail in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area and income tax cuts.[8][9][10] Ventura did not run for reelection. After leaving office in 2003, he became a visiting fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has since hosted a number of political television shows on RT America and Ora TV, and written several books.[11] Ventura has been a prominent figure in third-party politics, having repeatedly floated the idea of running for President of the United States as an independent candidate.[12]

In late April 2020, Ventura endorsed the Green Party in the 2020 presidential election and showed interest in running for its nomination.[13] He officially joined the Green Party of Minnesota on May 2.[14] On May 7, he confirmed he would not run.[15][16] The Alaskan division of the Green Party nominated Ventura without his involvement, causing the national party to disown it for abandoning its nominee, Howie Hawkins.[17]

  1. ^ a b c "OWOW profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Jesse Ventura " Wrestlers Database " CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  3. ^ "Jesse Ventura's Profile". Wrestlingdata.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference WWEbio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "More than Military". MilitaryHub.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Archives | The Philadelphia Inquirer". inquirer.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  8. ^ McCallum, Laura. "The political legacy of Jesse Ventura". minnesota.publicradio.org. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  9. ^ Khoo, Michael. "The days of Jesse". minnesota.publicradio.org. Archived from the original on August 12, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference budgetmess was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Mettler, Katie (June 8, 2017). "Jesse Ventura's new Russian state TV show: 'I am working for the enemy of mainstream media now'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 22, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  12. ^ "Jesse Ventura Considering Running For President, 'Trump will not Have a Chance!'". TMZ. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  13. ^ Bowden, John (April 27, 2020). "Jesse Ventura says he's 'testing the waters' for Green Party bid for president". The Hill. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  14. ^ Crews, Trahern (May 2, 2020). "Jesse Ventura Joins the Minnesota Green Party". Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  15. ^ "Former Gov. Jesse Ventura Announces He Will Not Be Running For President". May 8, 2020. Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  16. ^ "Former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura announces he will not run for president". Fox 9 KMSP. May 8, 2020. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  17. ^ Downing, Suzanne (September 1, 2020). "Green Party of Alaska nominates Jesse Ventura for president". Must Read Alaska. Archived from the original on September 2, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2021.