1857 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

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1857 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
  1855 November 3, 1857 1859  
  AWRandall.jpg James B. Cross.jpg
Nominee Alexander W. Randall James B. Cross
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote45,05944,941
Percentage50.03%49.90%

1857 Wisconsin gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Randall:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Cross:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

Governor before election

Coles Bashford
Republican

Elected Governor

Alexander W. Randall
Republican

The 1857 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1857. After incumbent Governor Coles Bashford declined to seek re-election, Republican Party candidate Alexander Randall narrowly defeated Democratic candidate James B. Cross by a margin of just 118 votes. [1]

Contents

Richland County would not vote for a Democrat again until 1924, nor would Polk County until 1918 and Juneau County until 1892. Conversely, Marquette County would not vote for a Republican again until 1886.

Nominations

Republican party

Alexander W. Randall was a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee prior to the 1857 gubernatorial election, having been appointed by the previous Governor, Coles Bashford. Randall had been an attorney for Governor Bashford in his challenge of the 1855 Wisconsin gubernatorial election results. 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. Randall served as a Democrat in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1855, but became a Republican later that year when he ran unsuccessfully for election to be Attorney General of Wisconsin.

Randall became a compromise choice for gubernatorial nominee at the 1857 Wisconsin Republican Convention after delegates became deadlocked between the two leading candidates, Edward Holton and Walter McIndoe.

Other candidates

  • Edward D. Holton, of Milwaukee, had previously been a candidate for Governor in the 1853 election, running as an independent. Holton was a strident abolitionist and was well-connected to the Milwaukee elite as a businessman and banker.
  • Walter D. McIndoe, of Wausau, had served three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the frontier northern counties of the state. McIndoe was a Scottish immigrant and worked in the lumber industry.

Democratic party

James B. Cross was the incumbent Mayor of Milwaukee at the time of the 1857 gubernatorial election, serving his third consecutive term in that role. He had also represented Milwaukee in the Wisconsin State Assembly for three terms. Cross was a lawyer and had previously served as a probate judge in Milwaukee County. He was a Wisconsin delegate to the 1856 Democratic National Convention.

James B. Cross was nominated on the third ballot at the Wisconsin Democratic Party Convention. He received 89 votes; Jairus C. Fairchild received 37; Francis Huebschmann received 14. [2]

Other candidates

Results

1857 Wisconsin gubernatorial election [3] [lower-alpha 1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Alexander Randall 45,059 50.03% +0.17%
Democratic James B. Cross 44,94149.90%−0.17%
Scattering580.06%
Majority1180.13%
Total votes90,058 100.00%
Republican hold Swing +0.35%

Results by county

County [3] Alexander Randall
Republican
James B. Cross
Democratic
Scattering
Write-in
MarginTotal votes cast
# %# %# %# %
Adams 39760.33%26139.67%00.00%13620.67%658
Bad Ax 54955.23%44544.77%00.00%10410.46%994
Brown 14319.92%57580.08%00.00%-432-60.17%718
Buffalo 17933.09%36266.91%00.00%-183-33.83%541
Calumet 36142.52%48857.48%00.00%-127-14.96%849
Chippewa 7021.47%25678.53%00.00%-186-57.06%326
Clark 5960.20%3939.80%00.00%2020.41%98
Columbia 1,73157.47%1,28042.50%10.03%45114.97%3,012
Crawford 27843.17%36656.83%00.00%-88-13.66%644
Dane 2,66847.30%2,95952.46%140.25%-291-5.16%5,641
Dodge 2,64748.43%2,81951.57%00.00%-172-3.15%5,466
Door 3950.65%3849.35%00.00%11.30%77
Douglas 2816.18%14583.82%00.00%-117-67.63%173
Dunn 20464.76%11135.24%00.00%9329.52%315
Eau Claire 19959.94%13340.06%00.00%6619.88%332
Fond du Lac 2,09753.44%1,82646.53%10.03%2716.91%3,924
Grant 1,68157.16%1,26042.84%00.00%42114.31%2,941
Green 1,15658.15%83241.85%00.00%32416.30%1,988
Iowa 76545.54%91554.46%00.00%-150-8.93%1,680
Jackson 33650.91%32449.09%00.00%121.82%660
Jefferson 1,80451.32%1,71148.68%00.00%932.65%3,515
Juneau 49949.70%50550.30%00.00%-6-0.60%1,004
Kenosha 93257.35%69342.65%00.00%23914.71%1,625
Kewaunee 5122.27%17877.73%00.00%-127-55.46%229
La Crosse 68444.19%86155.62%30.19%-177-11.43%1,548
La Pointe 00.00%43100.00%00.00%-43-100.00%43
Lafayette 75835.79%1,36064.21%00.00%-602-28.42%2,118
Manitowoc 63133.67%1,24166.22%20.11%-610-32.55%1,874
Marathon 19748.52%20951.48%00.00%-12-2.96%406
Marquette 1,47555.10%1,20244.90%00.00%27310.20%2,677
Milwaukee 2,24828.81%5,53170.89%230.29%-3,283-42.08%7,802
Monroe 55556.12%43443.88%00.00%12112.23%989
Oconto 16046.24%18653.76%00.00%-26-7.51%346
Outagamie 41642.06%57357.94%00.00%-157-15.87%989
Ozaukee 26618.56%1,16781.44%00.00%-901-62.88%1,433
Pierce 30664.15%17135.85%00.00%13528.30%477
Polk 11141.89%15458.11%00.00%-43-16.23%265
Portage 57153.62%49446.38%00.00%777.23%1,065
Racine 1,75254.68%1,45245.32%00.00%3009.36%3,204
Richland 53846.95%60853.05%00.00%-70-6.11%1,146
Rock 3,42567.71%1,63332.29%00.00%1,79235.43%5,058
Sauk 1,23959.74%83540.26%00.00%40419.48%2,074
Shawano 1520.27%5979.73%00.00%-44-59.46%74
Sheboygan 1,27654.91%1,04745.05%10.04%2299.85%2,324
St. Croix 35847.99%38852.01%00.00%-30-4.02%746
Trempealeau 16475.23%5424.77%00.00%11050.46%218
Walworth 2,33568.16%1,08931.79%20.06%1,24636.38%3,426
Washington 34119.10%1,43380.28%110.62%-1,092-61.18%1,785
Waukesha 2,26954.83%1,86945.17%00.00%4009.67%4,138
Waupaca 93665.27%49834.73%00.00%43830.54%1,434
Waushara 97877.25%28822.75%00.00%69054.50%1,266
Winnebago 2,05859.00%1,43041.00%00.00%62818.00%3,488
Wood 12452.77%11147.23%00.00%135.53%235
Total45,05950.03%44,94149.90%580.06%1180.13%90,058

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Notes

  1. There are two certificates from the Board of State Canvassers for the 1857 election. The second one includes additional votes from Adams County and Dodge County. These additional votes did not affect the final outcome, although the final result is significantly closer in the latter canvass and Cross wins Dodge County instead of Randall. The figures below are from the second canvass, including the additional votes.

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References

  1. 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.
  2. Tuttle, Charles R. (1875). An Illustrated History of the State of Wisconsin. B. B. Russell & Co. p.  341 . Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  3. 1 2 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 succeeding the first Monday, being the 3rd day of November 1857