1861 Wisconsin gubernatorial election explained

Election Name:	1861 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1859 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
Previous Year:	1859
Next Election:	1863 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
Next Year:	1863
Election Date:	November 5, 1861
Nominee1:	Louis P. Harvey
Party1:	National Union Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	53,777
Percentage1:	54.18%
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	45,456
Percentage2:	45.80%
Map Size:	250px
Governor
Before Election:	Alexander W. Randall
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Louis P. Harvey
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

The 1861 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1861. Republican Party candidate Louis P. Harvey won the election with 54% of the vote, defeating Democratic candidate Benjamin Ferguson.^[1]

This was the first Wisconsin gubernatorial election to take place after the outbreak of the American Civil War, and Wisconsin Republicans reorganized under the Union Party banner during the war. Democrats accused them of using patriotism to paper over the state's economic troubles.^[2]

Harvey won Calumet County and Kewaunee County; these counties would not vote for a Republican again until 1916 and 1896, respectively.

Background

Wisconsin was experiencing economic depression, the results of the Panic of 1857. The secession of the southern states was further damage to the economy, exacerbating problems in the state's banks, which had invested a great deal of capital in southern bonds. The bonds were essentially worthless after secession, and thirty eight banks had failed by June 1861, with another forty on the brink. Riots broke out over invalidated bank notes and soldiers had to be called in to restore order.^[3]

The farm economy was also depressed, as prices for agricultural products fell due to the Confederate blockade on the Mississippi River. Railroad companies took advantage of their new monopoly on transportation and raised their freight prices. The combination of low incomes and higher expenses pushed many farms toward foreclosure.^[3]

All of these problems weighed heavily on the government, and the Republicans, who held power in the state at the time, took much of the blame for bringing depression and war. It was in this environment that incumbent Republican Governor Alexander Randall chose not to seek re-election to a third term.^[3]

Nominations

Republican (Union) party

Louis P. Harvey was the incumbent Wisconsin Secretary of State at the time of the 1861 election, having been elected in the 1859 election. He had previously served two terms in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Rock County. Harvey was a former Whig who had participated in the founding and organization of the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

Democratic party

Benjamin Ferguson was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate at the time of the election, representing Dodge County. Ferguson was a farmer and had previously been elected Sheriff of Dodge County and served on the County Board of Supervisors.

Results

Results by county

County	Louis P. Harvey National Union		Benjamin Ferguson Democratic		Scattering Write-in		Margin		Total votes cast
County		%		%		%		%	Total votes cast
	Adams		678		79.95%		170		20.05%	0	0.00%	508	59.91%	848
	Ashland		29		43.28%		38		56.72%	0	0.00%	-9	-13.43%	67
	Bad Ax		966		77.09%		287		22.91%	0	0.00%	679	54.19%	1,253
	Brown		601		45.12%		731		54.88%	0	0.00%	-130	-9.76%	1,332
	Buffalo		567		70.61%		236		29.39%	0	0.00%	331	41.22%	803
	Calumet		394		54.72%		326		45.28%	0	0.00%	68	9.44%	720
	Chippewa		155		44.80%		191		55.20%	0	0.00%	-36	-10.40%	346
	Clark		175		87.06%		26		12.94%	0	0.00%	149	74.13%	201
	Columbia		1,925		72.18%		741		27.78%	1	0.04%	1,184	44.39%	2,667
	Crawford		582		46.41%		672		53.59%	0	0.00%	-90	-7.18%	1,254
	Dane		3,113		53.76%		2,675		46.19%	3	0.05%	438	7.56%	5,791
	Dodge		2,645		40.11%		3,950		59.89%	0	0.00%	-1,305	-19.79%	6,595
	Door		196		77.47%		56		22.13%	1	0.40%	140	55.34%	253
	Douglas		51		55.43%		41		44.57%	0	0.00%	10	10.87%	92
	Dunn		490		98.59%		7		1.41%	0	0.00%	483	97.18%	497
	Eau Claire		404		67.56%		194		32.44%	0	0.00%	210	35.12%	598
	Fond du Lac		2,440		51.53%		2,295		48.47%	0	0.00%	145	3.06%	4,735
	Grant		2,009		65.76%		1,046		34.24%	0	0.00%	963	31.52%	3,055
	Green		1,461		68.85%		661		31.15%	0	0.00%	800	37.70%	2,122
	Green Lake		811		65.35%		428		34.49%	2	0.16%	383	30.86%	1,241
	Iowa		988		55.01%		808		44.99%	0	0.00%	180	10.02%	1,796
	Jackson		605		85.94%		99		14.06%	0	0.00%	506	71.88%	704
	Jefferson		1,838		46.94%		2,076		53.01%	2	0.05%	-238	-6.08%	3,916
	Juneau		669		51.03%		640		48.82%	2	0.15%	29	2.21%	1,311
	Kenosha		1,054		68.26%		490		31.74%	0	0.00%	564	36.53%	1,544
	Kewaunee		307		60.08%		204		39.92%	0	0.00%	103	20.16%	511
	La Crosse		1,166		60.01%		777		39.99%	0	0.00%	389	20.02%	1,943
	La Pointe		57		100.00%		0		0.00%	0	0.00%	57	100.00%	57
	Lafayette		1,464		44.16%		1,851		55.84%	0	0.00%	-387	-11.67%	3,315
	Manitowoc		1,103		44.75%		1,361		55.21%	1	0.04%	-258	-10.47%	2,465
	Marathon		100		19.88%		403		80.12%	0	0.00%	-303	-60.24%	503
	Marquette		515		45.25%		623		54.75%	0	0.00%	-108	-9.49%	1,138
	Milwaukee		1,840		25.52%		5,370		74.48%	0	0.00%	-3,530	-48.96%	7,210
	Monroe		931		69.22%		414		30.78%	0	0.00%	517	38.44%	1,345
	Oconto		542		93.93%		33		5.72%	2	0.35%	509	88.21%	577
	Outagamie		449		33.66%		884		66.27%	1	0.07%	-435	-32.61%	1,334
	Ozaukee		345		19.60%		1,415		80.40%	0	0.00%	-1,070	-60.80%	1,760
	Pepin		467		77.32%		137		22.68%	0	0.00%	330	54.64%	604
	Pierce		756		90.87%		76		9.13%	0	0.00%	680	81.73%	832
	Polk		257		95.90%		11		4.10%	0	0.00%	246	91.79%	268
	Portage		619		69.24%		275		30.76%	0	0.00%	344	38.48%	894
	Racine		1,582		55.05%		1,292		44.95%	0	0.00%	290	10.09%	2,874
	Richland		714		58.10%		515		41.90%	0	0.00%	199	16.19%	1,229
	Rock		2,796		74.20%		969		25.72%	3	0.08%	1,827	48.49%	3,768
	Sauk		1,627		73.79%		578		26.21%	0	0.00%	1,049	47.57%	2,205
	Shawano		125		60.68%		81		39.32%	0	0.00%	44	21.36%	206
	Sheboygan		1,258		50.71%		1,223		49.29%	0	0.00%	35	1.41%	2,481
	St. Croix		635		66.15%		325		33.85%	0	0.00%	310	32.29%	960
	Trempealeau		469		94.94%		25		5.06%	0	0.00%	444	89.88%	494
	Walworth		2,133		65.27%		1,135		34.73%	0	0.00%	998	30.54%	3,268
	Washington		383		15.13%		2,146		84.79%	2	0.08%	-1,763	-69.66%	2,531
	Waukesha		1,950		46.84%		2,212		53.13%	1	0.02%	-262	-6.29%	4,163
	Waupaca		1,071		69.32%		471		30.49%	3	0.19%	600	38.83%	1,545
	Waushara		996		84.05%		189		15.95%	0	0.00%	807	68.10%	1,185
	Winnebago		2,071		60.63%		1,345		39.37%	0	0.00%	726	21.25%	3,416
	Wood		203		46.67%		232		53.33%	0	0.00%	-29	-6.67%	435
Total	53,777	54.18%	45,456	45.80%	25	0.03%	8,321	8.38%	99,258

Counties that flipped from Democratic to National Union

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Waukesha

Notes and References

Book: Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, Wisconsin Legislature . 2015 . Wisconsin Blue Book 2015-2016 . Madison, Wisconsin . Wisconsin Department of Administration . 699–701 . 978-0-9752820-7-6.
Book: Klement, Frank L. . Wisconsin in the Civil War: The Home Front and the Battle Front, 1861-1865 . . 1997 . June 10, 2019 . 6. Banks and Bonds, Business and Politics . 9780870206269 .
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1962 . The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1962 . State of Wisconsin . Theobald . H. Rupert . Wisconsin's military establishment: its organization and operation . 92–96 . September 14, 2019 .