The 1869 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1869. Incumbent Republican Party governor Lucius Fairchild won re-election with over 53% of the vote, defeating Democratic candidate Charles D. Robinson.[1] Fairchild became the first person to win three terms as governor of Wisconsin.
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 County results Fairchild : 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Robinson : 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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Fond du Lac County voted for the losing candidate for the first time ever, ending the longest bellwether streak in Wisconsin at the time.
Nominations
editRepublican party
editLucius Fairchild was the incumbent Governor of Wisconsin, having been elected in the 1865 election and re-elected in 1867. Prior to his election as Governor, he was Wisconsin Secretary of State for one term. Fairchild had also been a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, having served as a colonel in the famous Iron Brigade when they participated in fierce fighting at Gettysburg. Fairchild lost an arm due to wounds sustained at Gettysburg, and was later awarded an honorary promotion to brigadier general.[2]
Democratic party
editCharles D. Robinson was a businessman and newspaper publisher and had been the 3rd Secretary of State of Wisconsin. Prior to his nomination for Governor, Robinson had served in the Wisconsin State Assembly for one term, in 1850, had served as a Quartermaster with the Union Army during the American Civil War, and served one term as Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1866. He was the creator, writer, and publisher of the Democratic paper The Green Bay Advocate since 1846.[3]
Other candidates
edit- Nicholas D. Fratt, of Racine, Wisconsin, was a respected farmer and businessman who had served one term in the Wisconsin State Senate. He was founder and president of the Racine County Bank.[4]
- David W. Jones, of Iowa County, Wisconsin, had been the 5th Secretary of State of Wisconsin.[4]
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lucius Fairchild (incumbent) | 69,502 | 53.14% | +1.48% | |
| Democratic | Charles D. Robinson | 61,239 | 46.83% | −1.50% | |
| Scattering | 40 | 0.03% | |||
| Majority | 8,263 | 6.32% | |||
| Total votes | 130,781 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | Swing | +2.98% | |||
Results by county
edit| County[5][6] | Lucius Fairchild Republican |
Charles D. Robinson Democratic |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 575 | 75.07% | 191 | 24.93% | 384 | 50.13% | 766 |
| Ashland | 1 | 3.23% | 30 | 96.77% | -29 | -93.55% | 31 |
| Barron | 123 | 100.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 123 | 100.00% | 123 |
| Bayfield | 43 | 68.25% | 19 | 30.16% | 24 | 38.10% | 63[a] |
| Brown | 783 | 31.56% | 1,698 | 68.44% | -915 | -36.88% | 2,481 |
| Buffalo | 875 | 67.93% | 413 | 32.07% | 462 | 35.87% | 1,288 |
| Burnett | 74 | 96.10% | 3 | 3.90% | 71 | 92.21% | 77 |
| Calumet | 676 | 40.00% | 1,014 | 60.00% | -338 | -20.00% | 1,690 |
| Chippewa | 593 | 45.93% | 698 | 54.07% | -105 | -8.13% | 1,291 |
| Clark | 381 | 74.41% | 131 | 25.59% | 250 | 48.83% | 512 |
| Columbia | 2,185 | 61.93% | 1,342 | 38.04% | 843 | 23.89% | 3,528[a] |
| Crawford | 851 | 49.33% | 874 | 50.67% | -23 | -1.33% | 1,725 |
| Dane | 3,829 | 53.72% | 3,295 | 46.23% | 534 | 7.49% | 7,128[b] |
| Dodge | 2,419 | 36.44% | 4,220 | 63.56% | -1,801 | -27.13% | 6,639 |
| Door | 390 | 65.22% | 208 | 34.78% | 182 | 30.43% | 598 |
| Douglas | 39 | 41.94% | 54 | 58.06% | -15 | -16.13% | 93 |
| Dunn | 926 | 79.42% | 240 | 20.58% | 686 | 58.83% | 1,166 |
| Eau Claire | 791 | 66.92% | 391 | 33.08% | 400 | 33.84% | 1,182 |
| Fond du Lac | 3,071 | 48.22% | 3,289 | 51.64% | -218 | -3.42% | 6,369[c] |
| Grant | 3,008 | 67.08% | 1,476 | 32.92% | 1,532 | 34.17% | 4,484 |
| Green | 2,002 | 68.51% | 920 | 31.49% | 1,082 | 37.03% | 2,922 |
| Green Lake | 1,020 | 68.27% | 474 | 31.73% | 546 | 36.55% | 1,494 |
| Iowa | 1,413 | 52.82% | 1,262 | 47.18% | 151 | 5.64% | 2,675 |
| Jackson | 744 | 70.19% | 316 | 29.81% | 428 | 40.38% | 1,060 |
| Jefferson | 2,136 | 43.83% | 2,737 | 56.17% | -601 | -12.33% | 4,873 |
| Juneau | 913 | 54.18% | 772 | 45.82% | 141 | 8.37% | 1,685 |
| Kenosha | 1,081 | 54.57% | 898 | 45.33% | 183 | 9.24% | 1,981[d] |
| Kewaunee | 288 | 33.96% | 560 | 66.04% | -272 | -32.08% | 848 |
| La Crosse | 1,688 | 61.40% | 1,060 | 38.56% | 628 | 22.84% | 2,749[a] |
| Lafayette | 1,285 | 45.12% | 1,563 | 54.88% | -278 | -9.76% | 2,848 |
| Manitowoc | 1,502 | 41.08% | 2,154 | 58,92% | -652 | -17.83% | 3,656 |
| Marathon | 131 | 18.07% | 594 | 81.93% | -463 | -63.86% | 725 |
| Marquette | 466 | 35.04% | 864 | 64.96% | -398 | -29.92% | 1,330 |
| Milwaukee | 3,127 | 34.95% | 5,819 | 65.04% | -2,692 | -30.09% | 8,947[a] |
| Monroe | 1,095 | 63.11% | 640 | 36.89% | 455 | 26.22% | 1,735 |
| Oconto | 589 | 60.60% | 383 | 39.40% | 206 | 21.19% | 972 |
| Outagamie | 923 | 38.36% | 1,483 | 61.64% | -560 | -23.28% | 2,406 |
| Ozaukee | 330 | 17.81% | 1,523 | 82.19% | -1,193 | -64.38% | 1,853 |
| Pepin | 352 | 69.16% | 157 | 30.84% | 195 | 38.31% | 509 |
| Pierce | 837 | 68.05% | 393 | 31.95% | 444 | 36.10% | 1,230 |
| Polk | 359 | 67.23% | 175 | 32.77% | 184 | 34.46% | 534 |
| Portage | 736 | 63.23% | 428 | 36.77% | 308 | 26.46% | 1,164 |
| Racine | 1,748 | 58.11% | 1,252 | 41.62% | 496 | 16.49% | 3,008[e] |
| Richland | 1,247 | 58.35% | 890 | 41.65% | 357 | 16.71% | 2,137 |
| Rock | 3,227 | 73.49% | 1,159 | 26.39% | 2,068 | 47.10% | 4,391[f] |
| Sauk | 1,847 | 71.07% | 752 | 28.93% | 1,095 | 42.13% | 2,599 |
| Shawano | 212 | 51.71% | 198 | 48.29% | 14 | 3.41% | 410 |
| Sheboygan | 1,763 | 50.06% | 1,758 | 49.91% | 5 | 0.14% | 3,522[a] |
| St. Croix | 985 | 61.64% | 613 | 38.36% | 372 | 23.28% | 1,598 |
| Trempealeau | 642 | 82.20% | 139 | 17.80% | 503 | 64.40% | 781 |
| Vernon | 1,426 | 82.52% | 298 | 17.25% | 1,128 | 65.28% | 1,728[b] |
| Walworth | 2,472 | 67.76% | 1,175 | 32.21% | 1,297 | 35.55% | 3,648[a] |
| Washington | 690 | 22.46% | 2,382 | 77.54% | -1,692 | -55.08% | 3,072 |
| Waukesha | 2,177 | 44.92% | 2,668 | 55.06% | -491 | -10.13% | 4,846[a] |
| Waupaca | 1,620 | 68.67% | 739 | 31.33% | 881 | 37.35% | 2,359 |
| Waushara | 1,133 | 82.94% | 233 | 17.06% | 900 | 65.89% | 1,366 |
| Winnebago | 3,407 | 62.83% | 2,016 | 37.17% | 1,391 | 25.65% | 5,423 |
| Wood | 256 | 55.29% | 206 | 44.49% | 50 | 10.80% | 463[a] |
| Total | 69,502 | 53.14% | 61,239 | 46.83% | 8,263 | 6.32% | 130,781 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
editCounties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, Wisconsin Legislature (2015). Wisconsin Blue Book 2015–2016. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Administration. pp. 699–701. ISBN 978-0-9752820-7-6.
- ^ Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1960). "Wisconsin's former governors, 1848-1959". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1960 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 108–110. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
- ^ "Charles D. Robinson (1822-1886)". Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
- ^ a b "Democratic Convention". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. September 9, 1869. p. 2. Retrieved July 11, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Wisconsin Historical Society, Tabular Statement of the Votes polled for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Attorney General, State Superintendent, and State Prison Commissioner, and on the question of the proposed Amendment to the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin, at a General Election held in the several Towns, Wards and Election Precincts in the several counties in said state, on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday, being the second day of November 1869
- ^ a b Wisconsin Secretary of State (1870). "Appendix "K"". Annual Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Wisconsin for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30th, 1870. Madison, Wisconsin: Atwood & Culver, State Printers. pp. 129–131.