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 County results Randall: 50–60% 60–70% 70–100% Cross: 50–60% 60–70% 70–100% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Wisconsin |
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The 1857 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1857. Republican Party candidate Alexander Randall narrowly prevailed, defeating Democratic candidate James B. Cross by a margin of just 454 votes. [1]
Incumbent Governor Coles Bashford declined to seek re-election.
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]
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.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 3, 1857 | |||||
| Republican | Alexander Randall | 44,693 | 49.63% | -0.23% | |
| Democratic | James B. Cross | 44,239 | 49.12% | -0.95% | |
| Scattering | 1,126 | 1.25% | |||
| Plurality | 454 | 0.50% | +0.29% | ||
| Total votes | 90,058 | 100.0% | +24.05% | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
William Augustus Barstow was an American businessman, politician, and public administrator. He was the third governor and second Secretary of State of Wisconsin, and served as a Union Army officer during the American Civil War. Before Wisconsin became a state, he was instrumental in the creation of Waukesha County.
Coles Bashford was an American lawyer and politician who became the fifth governor of Wisconsin, and one of the founders of the U.S. Republican Party. His one term as governor ended in a bribery scandal that ended in him fleeing Wisconsin, but he was later instrumental in the government of the newly formed Arizona Territory.
Alexander Williams Randall was a lawyer, judge and politician from Wisconsin. He served as the sixth Governor of Wisconsin from 1858 until 1861. He was instrumental in raising and organizing the first Wisconsin volunteer troops for the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Frederick Robert Zimmerman was a German American politician from Milwaukee, who served as the 25th Governor of Wisconsin. He served before and after his governorship as Wisconsin Secretary of State—for a total of eighteen years in that office. He also served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly. His son, Robert C. Zimmerman, was also Wisconsin Secretary of State from 1957 until 1975.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin is a conservative political party in Wisconsin and is the Wisconsin affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The state party chair is Brian Schimming. The state party is divided into 72 county parties for each of the state's counties, as well as organizations for the state's eight congressional districts.
Gabriel Bouck was an American lawyer, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He represented Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives for two terms. He also served as Wisconsin's 6th Attorney General and was the 24th speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly. During the American Civil War he served as a Union Army officer.
James B. Cross was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 9th mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1855–1858). A Democrat, Cross also represented Milwaukee for three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and was the Party's nominee for Governor of Wisconsin in the 1857 election.
Thomas Richard Hudd was an American lawyer from Wisconsin who represented that state for two terms in the United States House of Representatives, as well as serving in both houses of that state's legislature and holding other public offices.
Walter Duncan McIndoe was a Scottish American immigrant, lumber industrialist, and politician. A Republican, he represented Wisconsin for two terms in the United States House of Representatives.
Erasmus Daniel Campbell was an American Democratic politician who served as the 6th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, and 2nd Mayor of La Crosse, Wisconsin. In historical sources, he was sometimes referred to as "E. D. Campbell." In at least one source, he was incorrectly referred to as "Edward Campbell."
Harlow South Orton was an American lawyer and judge. He was the 8th Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and served on the court from 1878 until his death. He is chiefly remembered as the author of the Wisconsin Supreme Court opinion Vosburg v. Putney (1890), an important torts case in establishing the scope of liability from battery. Earlier in his career, he served three non-consecutive terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Madison and central Dane County.
William Rudolph Smith was an American lawyer, politician, pioneer, and historian from Pennsylvania who served as the 5th Attorney General of Wisconsin, the first President of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and the first Adjutant General of Wisconsin.
Jairus Cassius Fairchild was an American Democratic politician and businessman. He was the first State Treasurer of Wisconsin and the first Mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. He was the father of Wisconsin's tenth governor, Lucius Fairchild. In historical documents, he is often referred to as "J. C. Fairchild" and his first name is sometimes misspelled "Jarius".
David W. Taylor was an American attorney, judge, and Republican politician. He was a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the last 13 years of his life (1878–1891). Previously, he served ten years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge, and was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate and Assembly.
Edward Dwight Holton was a nineteenth century Wisconsin political and business leader. Holton was Milwaukee's first sheriff and was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, but despite never holding a higher office he was influential in the early political development of the state. He was a candidate in the pivotal 1857 gubernatorial campaign, and was well known as an important leader on the subjects of abolitionism and temperance. He also had a strong influence on the development of the state through his involvement in the banking, railroad and insurance businesses.
The 1853 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1853. Democratic candidate William A. Barstow won the election with 55% of the vote, winning his first term as Governor of Wisconsin. Barstow defeated Free Soil Party candidate Edward D. Holton and Whig candidate Henry S. Baird. This would be the last Wisconsin gubernatorial election in which there was a Whig candidate on the ballot.
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.
The 1865 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1865. Republican Party candidate Lucius Fairchild won the election with nearly 55% of the vote, defeating Democratic candidate Harrison Carroll Hobart.
The 1867 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1867. Incumbent Republican Party Governor Lucius Fairchild won re-election with nearly 52% of the vote, defeating Democratic candidate John J. Tallmadge.
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.
