Matt Little, a DFL candidate for Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, saw his attempt to break the World Record for the most handshakes in eight hours brought to an early end by officials at the Minnesota State Fair.
Little had already shaken approximately 2,000 hands in just one hour and 15 minutes when fair officials instructed him to stop the attempt.
According to his campaign, Little was on pace to complete approximately 15,000 handshakes over eight hours, potentially surpassing the previous benchmark of 13,392 handshakes, set by then-New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson at the New Mexico State Fair. However, Minnesota State Fair officials reportedly determined that the activity was interfering with the fair experience and asked Little to discontinue the challenge. Little argued that the attempt was intended as a fun and non-partisan activity that brought fairgoers together.
After the eight-hour challenge was stopped, Little and his team switched to a second record attempt — the most handshakes in 30 seconds. Little reportedly shook hands with 57 people in just 17 seconds, surpassing the cited previous record of 44 while still having 13 seconds remaining in the 30-second period. The second attempt was conducted entirely within the DFL pavilion to avoid affecting activities elsewhere at the fairgrounds.
Video evidence of the short-duration handshake attempt is expected to be submitted to World Records for verification. Until the evidence has been reviewed and officially accepted, the reported 57-handshake achievement remains a record attempt rather than a confirmed World Records title. Little, a former Lakeville mayor and Minnesota state senator, turned an interrupted eight-hour challenge into a second opportunity to pursue a world record at one of Minnesota’s biggest annual events.
