1856 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

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1856 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Flag of the United States (1851-1858).svg
  1852 November 4, 1856 1860  
  John Charles Fremont crop.jpg James Buchanan (cropped).jpg
Nominee John C. Frémont James Buchanan
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California Pennsylvania
Running mate William L. Dayton John C. Breckinridge
Electoral vote50
Popular vote66,09252,867
Percentage55.07%44.05%

Wisconsin Presidential Election Results 1856.svg
County results

President before election

Franklin Pierce
Democratic

Elected President

James Buchanan
Democratic

The 1856 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 4, 1856, as part of the 1856 United States presidential election. State voters chose five electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Contents

John C. Frémont of the newly formed Republican Party won Wisconsin with 55% of the popular vote, winning the state's five electoral votes. [1]

Due to a snowstorm, Wisconsin's five electors could not convene on the constitutionally-mandated date to cast their electoral votes. They instead met on a later date and cast five votes for Frémont for president and five votes for William L. Dayton for vice president. During the joint session of Congress to count the electoral votes, objections were raised that Wisconsin's votes were invalid because they had not been cast on the correct day. After a two-day debate in which the President of the Senate attempted to unilaterally count Wisconsin's votes in the face of objections from the joint session, the matter was dropped because it was immaterial to the overall outcome of the election. [2] [3]

Fremont's victory was the first of nine consecutive Republican victories in the state, as Wisconsin would not vote for a Democratic candidate again until Grover Cleveland in 1892.

Results

General Election Results [4]
PartyPledged toElectorVotes
Republican Party John C. Frémont James H. Knowlton 66,092
Republican Party John C. FrémontEdward D. Holton66,090
Republican Party John C. Frémont Walter D. McIndoe 66,070
Republican Party John C. FrémontBillee Williams65,976
Republican Party John C. FrémontGregor Menzel65,762
Democratic Party James BuchananOtis Preston52,867
Democratic Party James BuchananJohn Mitchell52,854
Democratic Party James BuchananHenry M. Billings52,843
Democratic Party James BuchananR. Schleisinger Weil52,736
Democratic Party James BuchananJohn Fitzgerald52,635
American Party Millard FillmoreRichard Dart580
American Party Millard FillmoreHarrison Ludington579
American Party Millard FillmoreDavid A. Fairchild577
American Party Millard FillmoreZeni Rounds576
American Party Millard FillmoreRobert Chandler573
Write-in Scattering469
Votes cast [lower-alpha 1] 120,008

Results by county

County [4] John C. Frémont
Republican
James Buchanan
Democratic
Millard Fillmore
American
Scattering
Write-in
MarginTotal votes cast [lower-alpha 2]
# %# %# %# %# %
Adams 1,61773.30%58226.38%70.32%00.00%1,03546.92%2,206
Bad Ax 59666.52%23125.78%212.34%485.36%36540.74%896
Brown 49933.20%1,00466.80%00.00%00.00%-505-33.60%1,503
Buffalo 6829.31%16370.26%00.00%10.43%-95-40.95%232
Calumet 48653.52%41045.15%10.11%111.21%768.37%908
Clark 7366.36%3733.64%00.00%00.00%3632.73%110
Columbia 2,95270.27%1,24229.56%70.17%00.00%1,71040.70%4,201
Crawfor 51952.42%42943.33%10.10%414.14%909.09%990
Dane 3,99953.69%3,44346.23%60.08%00.00%5567.47%7,448
Dodge 3,45555.15%2,79544.61%150.24%00.00%66010.53%6,265
Dunn 39062.10%11918.95%00.00%119 [lower-alpha 3] 18.95%27143.15%628
Fond du Lac 3,29254.73%2,56442.63%250.42%134 [lower-alpha 4] 2.23%72812.10%6,015
Grant 2,80963.64%1,41932.15%1864.21%00.00%1,39031.49%4,414
Green 2,00464.17%1,08734.81%321.02%00.00%91729.36%3,123
Iowa 1,49749.93%1,47449.17%270.90%00.00%230.77%2,998
Jackson 30666.38%13729.72%61.30%122.60%16936.66%461
Jefferson 3,28948.87%3,43551.04%60.09%00.00%-146-2.17%6,730
Kenosha 1,50864.47%83135.53%00.00%00.00%67728.94%2,339
Kewaunee 8928.71%20666.45%51.61%103.23%-117-37.74%310
La Crosse 98763.55%54134.84%251.61%00.00%44628.72%1,553
Lafayette 1,41044.75%1,72254.65%190.60%00.00%-312-9.90%3,151
Manitowoc 1,17738.20%1,90461.80%00.00%00.00%-727-23.60%3,081
Marathon 26956.51%20743.49%00.00%00.00%6213.03%476
Marquette 2,51770.54%1,03228.92%190.53%00.00%1,48541.62%3,568
Milwaukee 2,79827.95%7,18771.80%250.25%00.00%-4,389-43.85%10,010
Monroe 72273.52%25425.87%60.61%00.00%46847.66%982
Outagamie 59742.98%75354.21%00.00%392.81%-156-11.23%1,389
Ozaukee 35915.01%2,03384.99%00.00%00.00%-1,674-69.98%2,392
Pierce 41477.97%10619.96%112.07%00.00%30858.00%531
Polk 9563.76%5436.24%00.00%00.00%4127.52%149
Portage 68064.52%36134.25%131.23%00.00%31930.27%1,054
Racine 2,29957.56%1,68942.29%60.15%00.00%61015.27%3,994
Richland 88264.24%45433.07%372.69%00.00%42831.17%1,373
Rock 4,70770.42%1,96429.38%100.15%30.04%2,74341.04%6,684
Sauk 2,01566.83%99332.94%40.13%30.10%1,02233.90%3,015
Shawano 6059.41%3433.66%00.00%76.93%2625.74%101
Sheboygan 1,89149.40%1,92250.21%150.39%00.00%-31-0.81%3,828
St. Croix 41762.33%25237.67%00.00%00.00%16524.66%669
Trempealeau 19080.85%4519.15%00.00%00.00%14561.70%235
Walworth 3,51872.45%1,29526.67%40.08%390.80%2,22345.78%4,856
Washington 81123.41%2,64676.36%70.20%10.03%-1,835-52.96%3,465
Waukesha 2,87558.63%2,02041.19%80.16%10.02%85517.43%4,904
Waupaca 63390.56%669.44%00.00%00.00%56781.12%699
Waushara 1,29285.39%21514.21%60.40%00.00%1,07771.18%1,513
Winnebago 2,76965.87%1,41533.66%200.48%00.00%1,35432.21%4,204
Wood 26073.24%9526.76%00.00%00.00%16546.48%355
Total66,09255.07%52,86744.05%5800.48%4690.39%13,22511.02%120,008

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Counties that flipped from Whig to Republican

Counties that flipped from Free Soil to Republican

See also

Notes

  1. Based on totals for highest elector on each ticket
  2. Based on highest elector on each ticket
  3. These votes appear to have been intended for Democratic elector Fitzgerald
  4. At least some of these votes appear to have been intended for Republican electors Williams and Menzel

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References

  1. "1856 Presidential General Election Results - Wisconsin" . Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  2. "How to Decide a Very Close Election for Presidential Electors: Part 2 | Take Care".
  3. Vasan Kesavan, Is the Electoral Count Act Unconstitutional, 80 N.C. L. Rev. 1653 (2002). Available at: https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr/vol80/iss5/4
  4. 1 2 Wisconsin Historical Society, Tabular Statement of the Votes polled for Electors of President and Vice President of the United States at a General Election held in the Several Counties in the State of Wisconsin on the Tuesday Succeeding the first Monday being the Fourth day of November 1856