| Election Name: | 1871 Wisconsin gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Wisconsin |
| Flag Year: | 1866 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1869 Wisconsin gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1869 |
| Next Election: | 1873 Wisconsin gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1873 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1871 |
| Nominee1: | Cadwallader C. Washburn |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 78,301 |
| Percentage1: | 53.17% |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 68,910 |
| Percentage2: | 46.79% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Lucius Fairchild |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Cadwallader C. Washburn |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 1871 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1871. Republican Cadwallader C. Washburn was elected with 53% of the vote, defeating Democratic candidate James Rood Doolittle.[1] Incumbent Governor Lucius Fairchild did not seek re-election.
Both major party candidates in this election had served as delegates to the Peace Conference of 1861 which attempted to avert the American Civil War.
Cadwallader C. Washburn had just left office as Congressman for Wisconsin's 6th congressional district, having served a total of ten years in the United States House of Representatives. Between his years in Congress, Washburn had served as a Union Army general in the Civil War under Ulysses S. Grant.
James Rood Doolittle had served twelve years as a Republican United States Senator before becoming the Democratic Party's nominee for Governor in the 1871 election. Prior to his service in the U.S. Senate, Doolittle had been a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge.
| County | C. C. Washburn Republican | James R. Doolittle Democratic | Scattering Write-in | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Adams | 719 | 72.19% | 277 | 27.81% | 0 | 0.00% | 442 | 44.38% | 996 | ||||||||||
| Ashland | 40 | 71.43% | 16 | 28.57% | 0 | 0.00% | 24 | 42.86% | 56 | ||||||||||
| Barron | 169 | 82.84% | 35 | 17.16% | 0 | 0.00% | 134 | 65.69% | 204 | ||||||||||
| Bayfield | 75 | 66.37% | 38 | 33.63% | 0 | 0.00% | 37 | 32.74% | 113 | ||||||||||
| Brown | 1,335 | 43.43% | 1,739 | 56.57% | 0 | 0.00% | -404 | -13.14% | 3,074 | ||||||||||
| Buffalo | 1,156 | 69.51% | 507 | 30.49% | 0 | 0.00% | 649 | 39.03% | 1,663 | ||||||||||
| Burnett | 198 | 90.00% | 22 | 10.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 176 | 80.00% | 220 | ||||||||||
| Calumet | 636 | 35.83% | 1,139 | 64.17% | 0 | 0.00% | -503 | -28.34% | 1,775 | ||||||||||
| Chippewa | 696 | 44.99% | 851 | 55.01% | 0 | 0.00% | -155 | -10.02% | 1,547 | ||||||||||
| Clark | 377 | 70.86% | 154 | 28.95% | 1 | 0.19% | 223 | 41.92% | 532 | ||||||||||
| Columbia | 2,248 | 58.69% | 1,579 | 41.23% | 3 | 0.08% | 669 | 17.47% | 3,830 | ||||||||||
| Crawford | 814 | 47.00% | 916 | 52.89% | 2 | 0.12% | -102 | -5.89% | 1,732 | ||||||||||
| Dane | 4,171 | 51.88% | 3,865 | 48.08% | 3 | 0.04% | 306 | 3.81% | 8,039 | ||||||||||
| Dodge | 2,538 | 35.68% | 4,575 | 64.32% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,037 | -28.64% | 7,113 | ||||||||||
| Door | 578 | 77.17% | 166 | 22.16% | 5 | 0.67% | 412 | 55.01% | 749 | ||||||||||
| Douglas | 58 | 45.67% | 69 | 54.33% | 0 | 0.00% | -11 | -8.66% | 127 | ||||||||||
| Dunn | 1,133 | 68.42% | 523 | 31.58% | 0 | 0.00% | 610 | 36.84% | 1,656 | ||||||||||
| Eau Claire | 1,409 | 61.26% | 890 | 38.70% | 1 | 0.04% | 519 | 22.57% | 2,300 | ||||||||||
| Fond du Lac | 3,596 | 48.13% | 3,875 | 51.86% | 1 | 0.01% | -279 | -3.73% | 7,472 | ||||||||||
| Grant | 3,154 | 61.54% | 1,971 | 38.46% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,183 | 23.08% | 5,125 | ||||||||||
| Green | 1,757 | 65.29% | 934 | 34.71% | 0 | 0.00% | 823 | 30.58% | 2,691 | ||||||||||
| Green Lake | 1,299 | 68.05% | 610 | 31.95% | 0 | 0.00% | 689 | 36.09% | 1,909 | ||||||||||
| Iowa | 1,457 | 47.15% | 1,632 | 52.82% | 1 | 0.03% | -175 | -5.66% | 3,090 | ||||||||||
| Jackson | 668 | 64.98% | 356 | 34.63% | 4 | 0.39% | 312 | 30.35% | 1,028 | ||||||||||
| Jefferson | 2,225 | 43.66% | 2,867 | 56.26% | 4 | 0.08% | -642 | -12.60% | 5,096 | ||||||||||
| Juneau | 1,080 | 56.54% | 829 | 43.40% | 1 | 0.05% | 251 | 13.14% | 1,910 | ||||||||||
| Kenosha | 1,051 | 53.84% | 901 | 46.16% | 0 | 0.00% | 150 | 7.68% | 1,952 | ||||||||||
| Kewaunee | 361 | 35.05% | 669 | 64.95% | 0 | 0.00% | -308 | -29.90% | 1,030 | ||||||||||
| La Crosse | 1,798 | 56.67% | 1,374 | 43.30% | 1 | 0.03% | 424 | 13.36% | 3,173 | ||||||||||
| Lafayette | 1,616 | 50.06% | 1,612 | 49.94% | 0 | 0.00% | 4 | 0.12% | 3,228 | ||||||||||
| Manitowoc | 1,452 | 44.09% | 1,833 | 55.66% | 8 | 0.24% | -381 | -11.57% | 3,293 | ||||||||||
| Marathon | 218 | 21.80% | 780 | 78.00% | 2 | 0.20% | -562 | -56.20% | 1,000 | ||||||||||
| Marquette | 532 | 35.40% | 971 | 64.60% | 0 | 0.00% | -439 | -29.21% | 1,503 | ||||||||||
| Milwaukee | 3,690 | 39.58% | 5,631 | 60.41% | 1 | 0.01% | -1,941 | -20.82% | 9,322 | ||||||||||
| Monroe | 1,209 | 56.95% | 914 | 43.05% | 0 | 0.00% | 295 | 13.90% | 2,123 | ||||||||||
| Oconto | 662 | 68.11% | 310 | 31.89% | 0 | 0.00% | 352 | 36.21% | 972 | ||||||||||
| Outagamie | 1,219 | 41.11% | 1,746 | 58.89% | 0 | 0.00% | -527 | -17.77% | 2,965 | ||||||||||
| Ozaukee | 295 | 15.75% | 1,574 | 84.04% | 4 | 0.21% | -1,279 | -68.29% | 1,873 | ||||||||||
| Pepin | 577 | 70.88% | 237 | 29.12% | 0 | 0.00% | 340 | 41.77% | 814 | ||||||||||
| Pierce | 1,228 | 69.61% | 534 | 30.27% | 2 | 0.11% | 694 | 39.34% | 1,764 | ||||||||||
| Polk | 561 | 75.50% | 182 | 24.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 379 | 51.01% | 743 | ||||||||||
| Portage | 899 | 62.69% | 535 | 37.31% | 0 | 0.00% | 364 | 25.38% | 1,434 | ||||||||||
| Racine | 2,073 | 55.55% | 1,659 | 44.45% | 0 | 0.00% | 414 | 11.09% | 3,732 | ||||||||||
| Richland | 1,401 | 58.11% | 1,009 | 41.85% | 1 | 0.04% | 392 | 16.26% | 2,411 | ||||||||||
| Rock | 3,661 | 70.88% | 1,504 | 29.12% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,157 | 41.76% | 5,165 | ||||||||||
| Sauk | 1,832 | 67.28% | 891 | 32.72% | 0 | 0.00% | 941 | 34.56% | 2,723 | ||||||||||
| Shawano | 191 | 42.35% | 259 | 57.43% | 1 | 0.22% | -68 | -15.08% | 451 | ||||||||||
| Sheboygan | 1,927 | 49.75% | 1,943 | 50.17% | 3 | 0.08% | -16 | -0.41% | 3,873 | ||||||||||
| St. Croix | 1,181 | 53.76% | 1,015 | 46.20% | 1 | 0.05% | 166 | 7.56% | 2,197 | ||||||||||
| Trempealeau | 988 | 77.01% | 294 | 22.92% | 1 | 0.08% | 694 | 54.09% | 1,283 | ||||||||||
| Vernon | 1,686 | 80.21% | 416 | 19.79% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,270 | 60.42% | 2,102 | ||||||||||
| Walworth | 2,908 | 69.59% | 1,270 | 30.39% | 1 | 0.02% | 1,638 | 39.20% | 4,179 | ||||||||||
| Washington | 666 | 21.90% | 2,371 | 77.97% | 4 | 0.13% | -1,705 | -56.07% | 3,041 | ||||||||||
| Waukesha | 2,413 | 48.82% | 2,529 | 51.16% | 1 | 0.02% | -116 | -2.35% | 4,943 | ||||||||||
| Waupaca | 1,575 | 65.46% | 831 | 34.54% | 0 | 0.00% | 744 | 30.92% | 2,406 | ||||||||||
| Waushara | 1,500 | 81.34% | 344 | 18.66% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,156 | 62.69% | 1,844 | ||||||||||
| Winnebago | 3,005 | 59.74% | 2,019 | 40.14% | 6 | 0.12% | 986 | 19.60% | 5,030 | ||||||||||
| Wood | 340 | 50.90% | 328 | 49.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 12 | 1.80% | 668 | ||||||||||
| Total | 78,301 | 53.17% | 68,910 | 46.79% | 63 | 0.04% | 9,391 | 6.38% | 147,274 | ||||||||||