| Election Name: | 1879 Wisconsin gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Wisconsin |
| Flag Year: | 1866 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1877 Wisconsin gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1877 |
| Next Election: | 1881 Wisconsin gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1881 |
| Election Date: | November 4, 1879 |
| Nominee1: | William E. Smith |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 100,535 |
| Percentage1: | 53.19% |
| Nominee2: | James Graham Jenkins |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 75,030 |
| Percentage2: | 39.70% |
| Nominee3: | Reuben May |
| Party3: | Greenback Party |
| Popular Vote3: | 26,216 |
| Percentage3: | 6.88% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | William E. Smith |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | William E. Smith |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 1879 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1879. Incumbent Republican Governor William E. Smith ran for re-election to a second term. The Democratic convention initially nominated Alexander Mitchell for Governor, but Mitchell declined the nomination; in his place, Milwaukee attorney James Graham Jenkins received the nomination. Smith and Jenkins also faced a Greenback candidate and a nominee from the nascent Prohibition Party in the general election.[1] Jenkins ultimately won re-election in a landslide, winning 53% of the vote Jenkins's 40%. Reuben May, the Greenback nominee, received only 7% of the vote, a significant erosion from the Party's 15% in 1877.