1905 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

For related races, see 1904–05 United States Senate elections.

1905 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

←  1899 January 25, 1905 1911  →

Nominee Robert M. La Follette Martin L. Lueck Victor Berger Party Republican Democratic Socialist Legislative vote 101 15 5 Percentage 82.11% 12.20% 4.07%

U.S. senator before election Joseph V. Quarles Republican Elected U.S. Senator Robert M. La Follette Republican

The 1905 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held in the 47th Wisconsin Legislature on January 25, 1905. Incumbent Republican U.S. senator Joseph V. Quarles ran for a second term but lost re-nomination to the popular incumbent governor, Robert M. La Follette. ^[1] After being elected U.S. senator, however, La Follette delayed taking office for an entire year, continuing to serve as governor through all of 1905.

In the 1905 term, Republicans held overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, so had more than enough votes to elect a Republican United States senator. La Follette won the nomination on the first ballot in the Republican caucus. ^[2]

Major candidates

Democratic

• Martin L. Lueck, prominent lawyer and former district attorney from Dodge County.

Republican

• John J. Esch, incumbent U.S. representative of Wisconsin's 7th congressional district.
• Robert M. La Follette, incumbent governor of Wisconsin, former U.S. representative from Dane County.
• Joseph V. Quarles, incumbent U.S. senator.
• Charles M. Webb, Wisconsin circuit court judge and former U.S. attorney from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.

Socialist

• Victor L. Berger, union organizer and activist, unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Milwaukee in 1904.

Results

1st Vote of the 47th Wisconsin Legislature, January 25, 1905 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert M. La Follette	101	82.11%
	Democratic	Martin L. Lueck	15	12.20%
	Socialist	Victor L. Berger	5 [a]	4.07%
	Republican	Joseph V. Quarles (incumbent)	2 [b]	1.63%
		Absent or not voting	10
Majority			62	50.41%
Total votes			123	92.48%
	Republican hold

Notes

1. Berger received the votes of all Socialist members.
2. Republican senators George W. Wolff and James A. Wright voted for Quarles.

References

1. "January 25, 1905". State of Wisconsin Senate Journal (Report). Wisconsin Legislature. 1905. pp. 168–170. Retrieved March 25, 2025– via HathiTrust.
2. "La Follette to Senate in Place of Quarles". Iowa County Democrat. January 26, 1905. p. 2. Retrieved March 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.