1869 Wisconsin gubernatorial election explained

Election Name:1869 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
Country:Wisconsin
Flag Year:1866
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1867 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
Previous Year:1867
Next Election:1871 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
Next Year:1871
Election Date:November 2, 1869
Nominee1:Lucius Fairchild
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:69,502
Percentage1:53.14%
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:61,239
Percentage2:46.83%
Map Size:250px
Governor
Before Election:Lucius Fairchild
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Lucius Fairchild
After Party:Republican Party (United States)

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.[1] Fairchild became the first person to win three terms as governor of Wisconsin.

Fond du Lac County voted for the losing candidate for the first time ever, ending the longest bellwether streak in Wisconsin at the time.

Nominations

Republican party

Lucius Fairchild was the incumbent Governor of Wisconsin, having been elected in the 1865 election and re-elected in 1867. Prior to his election as Governor, he was Wisconsin Secretary of State for one term. Fairchild had also been a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, having served as a colonel in the famous Iron Brigade when they participated in fierce fighting at Gettysburg. Fairchild lost an arm due to wounds sustained at Gettysburg, and was later awarded an honorary promotion to brigadier general.[2]

Democratic party

Charles D. Robinson was a businessman and newspaper publisher and had been the 3rd Secretary of State of Wisconsin. Prior to his nomination for Governor, Robinson had served in the Wisconsin State Assembly for one term, in 1850, had served as a Quartermaster with the Union Army during the American Civil War, and served one term as Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1866. He was the creator, writer, and publisher of the Democratic paper The Green Bay Advocate since 1846.[3]

Other candidates

Results

Results by county

CountyLucius Fairchild
Republican
Charles D. Robinson
Democratic
MarginTotal votes cast
%%%
Adams57575.07%19124.93%38450.13%766
Ashland13.23%3096.77%-29-93.55%31
Barron123100.00%00.00%123100.00%123
Bayfield4368.25%1930.16%2438.10%63
Brown78331.56%1,69868.44%-915-36.88%2,481
Buffalo87567.93%41332.07%46235.87%1,288
Burnett7496.10%33.90%7192.21%77
Calumet67640.00%1,01460.00%-338-20.00%1,690
Chippewa59345.93%69854.07%-105-8.13%1,291
Clark38174.41%13125.59%25048.83%512
Columbia2,18561.93%1,34238.04%84323.89%3,528
Crawford85149.33%87450.67%-23-1.33%1,725
Dane3,82953.72%3,29546.23%5347.49%7,128
Dodge2,41936.44%4,22063.56%-1,801-27.13%6,639
Door39065.22%20834.78%18230.43%598
Douglas3941.94%5458.06%-15-16.13%93
Dunn92679.42%24020.58%68658.83%1,166
Eau Claire79166.92%39133.08%40033.84%1,182
Fond du Lac3,07148.22%3,28951.64%-218-3.42%6,369
Grant3,00867.08%1,47632.92%1,53234.17%4,484
Green2,00268.51%92031.49%1,08237.03%2,922
Green Lake1,02068.27%47431.73%54636.55%1,494
Iowa1,41352.82%1,26247.18%1515.64%2,675
Jackson74470.19%31629.81%42840.38%1,060
Jefferson2,13643.83%2,73756.17%-601-12.33%4,873
Juneau91354.18%77245.82%1418.37%1,685
Kenosha1,08154.57%89845.33%1839.24%1,981
Kewaunee28833.96%56066.04%-272-32.08%848
La Crosse1,68861.40%1,06038.56%62822.84%2,749
Lafayette1,28545.12%1,56354.88%-278-9.76%2,848
Manitowoc1,50241.08%2,15458,92%-652-17.83%3,656
Marathon13118.07%59481.93%-463-63.86%725
Marquette46635.04%86464.96%-398-29.92%1,330
Milwaukee3,12734.95%5,81965.04%-2,692-30.09%8,947
Monroe1,09563.11%64036.89%45526.22%1,735
Oconto58960.60%38339.40%20621.19%972
Outagamie92338.36%1,48361.64%-560-23.28%2,406
Ozaukee33017.81%1,52382.19%-1,193-64.38%1,853
Pepin35269.16%15730.84%19538.31%509
Pierce83768.05%39331.95%44436.10%1,230
Polk35967.23%17532.77%18434.46%534
Portage73663.23%42836.77%30826.46%1,164
Racine1,74858.11%1,25241.62%49616.49%3,008
Richland1,24758.35%89041.65%35716.71%2,137
Rock3,22773.49%1,15926.39%2,06847.10%4,391
Sauk1,84771.07%75228.93%1,09542.13%2,599
Shawano21251.71%19848.29%143.41%410
Sheboygan1,76350.06%1,75849.91%50.14%3,522
St. Croix98561.64%61338.36%37223.28%1,598
Trempealeau64282.20%13917.80%50364.40%781
Vernon1,42682.52%29817.25%1,12865.28%1,728
Walworth2,47267.76%1,17532.21%1,29735.55%3,648
Washington69022.46%2,38277.54%-1,692-55.08%3,072
Waukesha2,17744.92%2,66855.06%-491-10.13%4,846
Waupaca1,62068.67%73931.33%88137.35%2,359
Waushara1,13382.94%23317.06%90065.89%1,366
Winnebago3,40762.83%2,01637.17%1,39125.65%5,423
Wood25655.29%20644.49%5010.80%463
Total69,50253.14%61,23946.83%8,2636.32%130,781

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Notes and References

  1. 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.
  2. The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1960 . State of Wisconsin . 108–110 . November 3, 2019 . http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1960 . 1960 . Toepel . M. G. . Kuehn . Hazel L. . Wisconsin's former governors, 1848-1959.
  3. Web site: Charles D. Robinson (1822-1886). 2009-12-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110505142616/http://www.ci.green-bay.wi.us/mayors_past/mayor_robinson.html . 2011-05-05 .
  4. News: Democratic Convention . September 9, 1869 . . 2 . . July 11, 2020 . Newspapers.com.