The 1859 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1859. Republican Party incumbent Governor Alexander Randall won re-election with 53% of the vote, defeating Democratic candidate Harrison Carroll Hobart.[1]
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 County results Randall: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Hobart: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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This election was one of only four occasions in which a Democrat has carried Door County and the only time in the 19th century; Door County would not vote Democratic again until 1904.[a]
Nominations
editRepublican party
editAlexander W. Randall was the incumbent Governor, having been elected in the 1857 election. He had previously served as a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge in Milwaukee, and served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1855. Earlier, in 1846, Randall had been a delegate to the first Wisconsin constitutional convention and had successfully advocated for including a provision by which African American suffrage could be legalized via referendum.
Democratic party
editHarrison Carroll Hobart was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly at the time of the election, representing Calumet County. He had previously served as Speaker of the Assembly in the 1849 session, and was state senator for the 1st district in the 1st Wisconsin Legislature.
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Alexander Randall (incumbent) | 59,999 | 53.21% | +3.18% | |
| Democratic | Harrison Carroll Hobart | 52,539 | 46.60% | −3.31% | |
| Scattering | 217[b] | 0.19% | |||
| Majority | 7,460 | 6.62% | |||
| Total votes | 112,755 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | Swing | +6.49% | |||
Results by county
edit| County[2] | Alexander Randall Republican |
Harrison C. Hobart Democratic |
Scattering Write-in |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 594 | 66.89% | 293 | 33.00% | 1 | 0.11% | 301 | 33.90% | 888 |
| Bad Ax | 995 | 61.65% | 619 | 38.35% | 0 | 0.00% | 376 | 23.30% | 1,614 |
| Brown | 423 | 28.35% | 1,066 | 71.45% | 3 | 0.20% | -643 | -43.10% | 1,492 |
| Buffalo[c] | 264 | 38.94% | 414 | 61.06% | 0 | 0.00% | -150 | -22.12% | 678 |
| Calumet | 518 | 43.13% | 683 | 56.87% | 0 | 0.00% | -165 | -13.74% | 1,201 |
| Chippewa | 156 | 38.61% | 248 | 61.39% | 0 | 0.00% | -92 | -22.77% | 404 |
| Clark | 71 | 62.83% | 42 | 37.17% | 0 | 0.00% | 29 | 25.66% | 113 |
| Columbia | 2,595 | 61.19% | 1,645 | 38.79% | 1 | 0.02% | 950 | 22.40% | 4,241 |
| Crawford | 619 | 45.28% | 748 | 54.72% | 0 | 0.00% | -129 | -9.44% | 1,367 |
| Dane | 3,727 | 48.99% | 3,880 | 51.00% | 1 | 0.01% | -153 | -2.01% | 7,608 |
| Dodge | 3,492 | 46.65% | 3,856 | 51.51% | 138 | 1.84% | -364 | -4.86% | 7,486 |
| Door[c] | 72 | 48.00% | 78 | 52.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -6 | -4.00% | 150 |
| Douglas | 34 | 36.17% | 60 | 63.83% | 0 | 0.00% | -26 | -27.66% | 94 |
| Dunn | 192 | 52.32% | 175 | 47.68% | 0 | 0.00% | 17 | 4.63% | 367 |
| Eau Claire[c] | 320 | 57.87% | 233 | 42.13% | 0 | 0.00% | 87 | 15.73% | 553 |
| Fond du Lac | 3,214 | 55.92% | 2,530 | 44.02% | 3 | 0.05% | 684 | 11.90% | 5,747 |
| Grant | 2,496 | 59.22% | 1,715 | 40.69% | 4 | 0.09% | 781 | 18.53% | 4,215 |
| Green | 1,726 | 60.20% | 1,141 | 39.80% | 0 | 0.00% | 585 | 20.40% | 2,867 |
| Green Lake | 1,453 | 68.70% | 662 | 31.30% | 0 | 0.00% | 791 | 37.40% | 2,115 |
| Iowa | 1,454 | 52.30% | 1,320 | 47.48% | 6 | 0.22% | 134 | 4.82% | 2,780 |
| Jackson | 494 | 62.77% | 293 | 37.23% | 0 | 0.00% | 201 | 25.54% | 787 |
| Jefferson | 2,327 | 48.08% | 2,512 | 51.90% | 1 | 0.02% | -185 | -3.82% | 4,840 |
| Juneau | 1,060 | 54.81% | 874 | 45.19% | 0 | 0.00% | 186 | 9.62% | 1,934 |
| Kenosha | 1,321 | 59.32% | 906 | 40.68% | 0 | 0.00% | 415 | 18.63% | 2,227 |
| Kewaunee | 167 | 22.75% | 567 | 77.25% | 0 | 0.00% | -400 | -54.50% | 734 |
| La Crosse | 1,219 | 53.99% | 1,034 | 45.79% | 5 | 0.22% | 185 | 8.19% | 2,258 |
| La Pointe | 72 | 39.78% | 109 | 60.22% | 0 | 0.00% | -37 | -20.44% | 181 |
| Lafayette | 1,102 | 42.11% | 1,514 | 57.85% | 1 | 0.04% | -412 | -15.74% | 2,617 |
| Manitowoc | 704 | 24.76% | 2,134 | 75.06% | 5 | 0.18% | -1,430 | -50.30% | 2,843 |
| Marathon | 206 | 28.81% | 509 | 71.19% | 0 | 0.00% | -303 | -42.38% | 715 |
| Marquette | 586 | 42.53% | 792 | 57.47% | 0 | 0.00% | -206 | -14.95% | 1,378 |
| Milwaukee[c] | 2,811 | 30.99% | 6,261 | 69.01% | 0 | 0.00% | -3,450 | -38.03% | 9,072 |
| Monroe | 939 | 61.90% | 578 | 38.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 361 | 23.80% | 1,517 |
| Oconto | 352 | 44.44% | 440 | 55.56% | 0 | 0.00% | -88 | -11.11% | 792 |
| Outagamie | 494 | 40.23% | 733 | 59.69% | 1 | 0.08% | -239 | -19.46% | 1,228 |
| Ozaukee | 627 | 28.45% | 1,577 | 71.55% | 0 | 0.00% | -950 | -43.10% | 2,204 |
| Pepin | 432 | 62.88% | 255 | 37.12% | 0 | 0.00% | 177 | 25.76% | 687 |
| Pierce | 506 | 62.39% | 305 | 37.61% | 0 | 0.00% | 201 | 24.78% | 811 |
| Polk | 161 | 52.44% | 141 | 45.93% | 5 | 1.63% | 20 | 6.51% | 307 |
| Portage | 743 | 56.08% | 582 | 43.92% | 0 | 0.00% | 161 | 12.15% | 1,325 |
| Racine | 2,111 | 56.32% | 1,634 | 43.60% | 3 | 0.08% | 477 | 12.73% | 3,748 |
| Richland | 745 | 53.52% | 647 | 46.48% | 0 | 0.00% | 98 | 7.04% | 1,392 |
| Rock | 4,089 | 72.09% | 1,578 | 27.82% | 5 | 0.09% | 2,511 | 44.27% | 5,672 |
| Sauk | 1,659 | 67.49% | 799 | 32.51% | 0 | 0.00% | 860 | 34.99% | 2,458 |
| Shawano | 105 | 54.69% | 87 | 45.31% | 0 | 0.00% | 18 | 9.38% | 192 |
| Sheboygan | 1,772 | 48.67% | 1,839 | 50.51% | 30 | 0.82% | -67 | -1.84% | 3,641 |
| St. Croix | 516 | 47.96% | 560 | 52.04% | 0 | 0.00% | -44 | -4.09% | 1,076 |
| Trempealeau | 366 | 71.91% | 143 | 28.09% | 0 | 0.00% | 223 | 43.81% | 509 |
| Walworth | 3,133 | 68.23% | 1,459 | 31.77% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,674 | 36.45% | 4,592 |
| Washington | 684 | 24.50% | 2,106 | 75.43% | 2 | 0.07% | -1,422 | -50.93% | 2,792 |
| Waukesha | 2,785 | 54.80% | 2,295 | 45.16% | 2 | 0.04% | 490 | 9.64% | 5,082 |
| Waupaca | 1,167 | 65.16% | 624 | 34.84% | 0 | 0.00% | 543 | 30.32% | 1,791 |
| Waushara | 1,126 | 74.77% | 380 | 25.23% | 0 | 0.00% | 746 | 49.54% | 1,506 |
| Winnebago | 2,235 | 58.74% | 1,570 | 41.26% | 0 | 0.00% | 665 | 17.48% | 3,805 |
| Wood | 235 | 45.63% | 280 | 54.37% | 0 | 0.00% | -45 | -8.74% | 515 |
| Total | 59,999 | 53.21% | 52,539 | 46.60% | 217 | 0.19% | 7,460 | 6.62% | 112,755 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
editCounties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
editNotes
edit- ^ Besides 1859 and 1904, the only other two gubernatorial elections in which a Democrat has carried Door County are 2006 and 2022.
- ^ The canvass gives the Scattering total as 83, but the column for Scattering also notes 134 votes for "Harrison" in Dodge County and these are enumerated separately in the certificate.
- ^ a b c d The votes from this county were rejected by the Board of Canvassers and are not included in the statewide totals.
References
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.
- ^ a b Wisconsin Historical Society, Tabular Statement of the Votes polled for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Seceretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, State Superintendent, Bank Comptroller and State Prison Commissioner, at a General Election held in the several Counties in the State of Wisconsin on Tuesday, being the Eighth day of November 1859