1924 United States presidential election in Wisconsin explained

See main article: article and 1924 United States presidential election.

Election Name:1924 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Country:Wisconsin
Flag Year:1913
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1920 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Previous Year:1920
Next Election:1928 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Next Year:1928
Election Date:November 4, 1924
Image1:Robert La Follette Sr crop.jpg
Nominee1:Robert M. La Follette
Party1:Progressive Party (US, 1924)
Home State1:Wisconsin
Running Mate1:Burton K. Wheeler
Electoral Vote1:13
Popular Vote1:453,678
Percentage1:53.96%
Nominee2:Calvin Coolidge
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:Massachusetts
Running Mate2:Charles G. Dawes
Electoral Vote2:0
Popular Vote2:311,614
Percentage2:37.06%
Image3:John William Davis.jpg
Nominee3:John W. Davis
Party3:Democratic Party (United States)
Home State3:West Virginia
Running Mate3:Charles W. Bryan
Electoral Vote3:0
Popular Vote3:68,115
Percentage3:8.10%
Map Size:315px
President
Before Election:Calvin Coolidge
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Calvin Coolidge
After Party:Republican Party (United States)

The 1924 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 4, 1924, as part of the 1924 United States presidential election. State voters chose 13 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Wisconsin had since the decline of the Populist movement been substantially a one-party state dominated by the Republican Party.[1] The Democratic Party became entirely uncompetitive outside certain German Catholic counties adjoining Lake Michigan as the upper classes, along with the majority of workers who followed them, completely fled from William Jennings Bryan's agrarian and free silver sympathies.[2] As Democratic strength weakened severely after 1894 – although the state did develop a strong Socialist Party to provide opposition to the GOP – Wisconsin developed the direct Republican primary in 1903 and this ultimately created competition between the "League" under Robert M. La Follette, and the conservative "Regular" faction.[3]

The beginning of the 1910s would see a minor Democratic revival as many La Follette progressives endorsed Woodrow Wilson,[4] but this flirtation would not be long-lasting as Wilson's "Anglophile" foreign policies were severely opposed by Wisconsin's largely German- and Scandinavian-American populace.[5] The 1918 mid-term elections saw the Midwestern farming community largely desert the Democratic Party due to supposed preferential treatment of Southern farmers:[6] Democratic seats in the Midwest fell from thirty-four to seventeen,[7] and in 1920 Wisconsin's status as a one-party Republican state was solidified as James M. Cox won less than a sixth of the state's presidential vote and Democrats claimed only four state legislative seats, all but one of which would be lost in 1922.

At the same time, the Republican Party both at the state and national levels was severely divided between an ascendant conservative faction and a progressive faction, whose leader was Wisconsin's own veteran senator Robert M. La Follette.[8] After a fierce debate the Democratic Party nominated former Congressman John W. Davis of West Virginia,[9] who although West Virginia was a border state whose limited African-American population had not been disenfranchised as happened in all former Confederate States,[10] shared the extreme social conservatism of Southern Democrats of the time. Davis supported poll taxes, opposed women's suffrage, and believed in strictly limited government with no expansion in nonmilitary fields.[11]

The conservatism of the major-party nominees made La Follette mount a third-party challenge, which he had planned even beforehand.[12] Wisconsin's Senator was formally nominated on July 4 by the "Conference for Progressive Political Action" and developed a platform dedicated to eliminating child labor and American interference in Latin American political affairs, along with a formal denunciation of the Ku Klux Klan.[13] La Follette also proposed major judicial reforms including amendments allowing congress to override judicial review and to re-enact laws declared unconstitutional.[14] La Follette also called for election of federal judges for ten-year terms.[15]

At the beginning of the campaign in July, La Follette listed nine states as "in" for him, including Wisconsin.[16] Although early opinion polls showed La Follette attracting large numbers of those German and Scandinavian-Americans who completely deserted Cox in 1920,[17] newer polls later in the fall showed Wisconsin as the only state La Follette was certain to carry.[18] These later polls proved correct, with La Follette carrying Wisconsin with 53.96 percent of the popular vote, but winning no other state.[19]

Results

+ General Election Results[20] [21] PartyPledged toElectorVotes
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteZona Gale453,678
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteOtto P. Seifriz446,289
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteJulia Anderson Schnetz444,915
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteCharles J. Schoenfeld444,848
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteWilliam T. Evjue444,514
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteJohn J. Handley444,062
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteIra S. Lorenz444,004
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteJohn C. Schmidtmann443,862
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteWilliam V. Kidder443,784
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteErnest L. Schroeder443,726
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteJohn T. Reynolds443,459
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteMary Francis Taylor443,224
IndependentRobert M. La FolletteClough Gates443,073
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeEmanuel L. Phillipp311,614
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeMagnus Swenson310,550
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeF. Lee Norton310,538
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeLyman G. Wheeler310,455
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeTheodora W. Youmans310,388
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeWheeler P. Bloodgood310,330
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeTheodore Benfey310,306
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeTimothy Burke310,085
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeJ. L. Sturtevant310,019
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeGeorge S. Gordon Sr.309,930
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeSophie I. Strathern309,923
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeLaura Olson309,824
Republican PartyCalvin CoolidgeMary Scott Johnson309,654
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisAnthony Szczerbinski68,115
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisKatherine L. Conway68,096
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisJohn F. Doherty68,040
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisJohn Moran68,028
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisCharles E. Wilson68,025
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisWilliam H. Graebner68,011
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisCarl J. Mueller67,958
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisJohn Mulva67,840
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisH. B. Crane67,837
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisFrancis J. Rooney67,815
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisHenry L. Nunn67,775
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisGeorge F. Dietrich67,772
Democratic PartyJohn W. DavisLudwig P. Moen67,751
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterHenry Hill3,773
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterMartin Udjbinac3,759
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterArvid Nelson3,739
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterA. J. Haynes3,728
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterAaron Kivisto3,724
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterLouis Majtan3,715
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterMartin Markovich3,710
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterCarl Gerlach3,708
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterMarko Ebenhe3,687
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterClara Knappe3,681
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterCarl Schradl3,666
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterFred Podello3,659
IndependentWilliam Z. FosterFredinand Pilacek3,628
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisHelen M. Tubbs2,918
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisWilliam E. Mack2,845
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisM. L. Welles2,839
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisAlba A. Glovier2,831
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisElla Tenney Sanford2,824
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisCharles H. Mott2,818
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisHerbert S. Siggelko2,811
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisAugust F. Fehlandt2,809
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisLucius A. Willis2,809
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisPeter H. Rasmussen2,802
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisFrank Elisha Cummings2,795
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisD. Belle Ady2,790
Prohibition PartyHerman P. FarisDavid Walden Emerson2,768
IndependentFrank T. JohnsJeff Davies458
IndependentFrank T. JohnsG. Driebel411
IndependentFrank T. JohnsE. Kathke Jr.379
IndependentFrank T. JohnsM. Farchmin Jr.376
IndependentWilliam J. WallaceCarl Aken270
IndependentWilliam J. WallaceCornelius Leenhouts215
Write-inScattering10
Votes cast840,836

Results by county

CountyRobert M. La Follette
Independent		Calvin Coolidge
Republican		John W. Davis
Democratic		All Others
Various		MarginTotal votes cast
%%%%%
Adams1,72464.16%77928.99%1736.44%110.41%94535.17%2,687
Ashland4,20460.02%2,27232.44%4496.41%791.13%1,93227.58%7,004
Barron6,01065.47%2,70329.44%3774.11%900.98%3,30736.02%9,180
Bayfield2,60156.54%1,67536.41%2054.46%1192.59%92620.13%4,600
Brown10,02449.92%7,61137.90%2,32811.59%1170.58%2,41312.02%20,080
Buffalo2,47461.76%1,32433.05%1764.39%320.80%1,15028.71%4,006
Burnett2,08866.12%95830.34%762.41%361.14%1,13035.78%3,158
Calumet3,50369.42%93818.59%56911.28%360.71%2,56550.83%5,046
Chippewa6,51752.95%5,13541.72%5604.55%960.78%1,38211.23%12,308
Clark6,20862.02%3,13031.27%5525.51%1201.20%3,07830.75%10,010
Columbia5,96851.05%4,72440.41%9077.76%910.78%1,24410.64%11,690
Crawford2,97752.58%1,68729.80%93616.53%621.10%1,29022.78%5,662
Dane24,59562.73%12,28031.32%2,0815.31%2520.64%12,31531.41%39,208
Dodge9,61056.63%5,16730.45%2,01911.90%1751.03%4,44326.18%16,971
Door2,71555.36%1,89138.56%2354.79%631.28%82416.80%4,904
Douglas8,25554.89%5,88739.14%6384.24%2591.72%2,36815.75%15,039
Dunn4,38555.39%3,17740.13%2843.59%700.88%1,20815.26%7,916
Eau Claire5,22247.12%5,14946.46%6295.68%830.75%730.66%11,083
Florence52344.21%59450.21%494.14%171.44%-71-6.00%1,183
Fond du Lac9,57646.80%8,51641.62%2,22210.86%1460.71%1,0605.18%20,460
Forest1,25946.46%1,10440.74%29911.03%481.77%1555.72%2,710
Grant6,82548.17%5,71440.33%1,51810.71%1120.79%1,1117.84%14,169
Green4,88558.64%2,92235.07%4235.08%1011.21%1,96323.56%8,331
Green Lake2,18741.19%1,98837.45%1,09020.53%440.83%1993.75%5,309
Iowa4,13350.32%3,29140.07%6898.39%1001.22%84210.25%8,213
Iron1,40053.15%1,05840.17%843.19%923.49%34212.98%2,634
Jackson3,16761.44%1,66232.24%2554.95%711.38%1,50529.19%5,155
Jefferson7,88557.93%4,25031.22%1,37410.09%1020.75%3,63526.71%13,611
Juneau3,78561.40%1,91731.10%4036.54%590.96%1,86830.30%6,164
Kenosha6,69535.90%10,34155.45%1,5178.13%960.51%-3,646-19.55%18,649
Kewaunee2,80465.82%1,01823.90%3959.27%431.01%1,78641.92%4,260
La Crosse10,54359.74%5,73332.49%1,2527.09%1190.67%4,81027.26%17,647
Lafayette3,68147.81%2,67134.69%1,26516.43%821.07%1,01013.12%7,699
Langlade3,57850.05%2,57235.98%92612.95%731.02%1,00614.07%7,149
Lincoln4,46564.54%1,85726.84%5037.27%931.34%2,60837.70%6,918
Manitowoc9,81460.04%4,82829.54%1,5999.78%1040.64%4,98630.50%16,345
Marathon12,19363.88%5,57729.22%1,1095.81%2091.09%6,61634.66%19,088
Marinette3,41137.98%4,91154.68%5716.36%880.98%-1,500-16.70%8,981
Marquette1,82051.18%1,10931.19%58716.51%401.12%71119.99%3,556
Milwaukee81,69755.19%50,73034.27%14,5109.80%1,0920.74%30,96720.92%148,029
Monroe6,74767.71%2,66126.70%4284.30%1291.29%4,08641.00%9,965
Oconto4,50658.25%2,56233.12%6027.78%650.84%1,94425.13%7,735
Oneida3,19659.74%1,76933.07%3246.06%611.14%1,42726.67%5,350
Outagamie10,35757.03%6,42635.39%1,2556.91%1220.67%3,93121.65%18,160
Ozaukee3,26466.61%1,01520.71%59212.08%290.59%2,24945.90%4,900
Pepin73733.59%1,22655.88%2069.39%251.14%-489-22.29%2,194
Pierce3,66153.80%2,78840.97%2984.38%580.85%87312.83%6,805
Polk4,25157.18%2,79337.57%3174.26%730.98%1,45819.61%7,434
Portage5,34752.01%2,85427.76%2,01019.55%690.67%2,49324.25%10,280
Price3,15158.94%1,75432.81%3236.04%1182.21%1,39726.13%5,346
Racine11,29843.51%13,04050.21%1,4635.63%1680.65%-1,742-6.71%25,969
Richland2,66041.97%2,66942.11%89814.17%1111.75%-9-0.14%6,338
Rock7,92332.58%14,81560.92%1,4535.97%1290.53%-6,892-28.34%24,320
Rusk2,67754.19%1,93239.11%2725.51%591.19%74515.08%4,940
Sauk6,40057.91%3,93535.60%5555.02%1621.47%2,46522.30%11,052
Sawyer1,48756.37%99037.53%1355.12%260.99%49718.84%2,638
Shawano6,33770.69%2,06323.01%4715.25%941.05%4,27447.67%8,965
Sheboygan11,71458.04%6,97434.56%1,3506.69%1430.71%4,74023.49%20,181
St. Croix4,69351.72%3,60039.68%7187.91%620.68%1,09312.05%9,073
Taylor3,07965.37%1,38929.49%1853.93%571.21%1,69035.88%4,710
Trempealeau4,14862.24%2,08331.26%3735.60%600.90%2,06530.99%6,664
Vernon5,59963.78%2,67030.41%4064.62%1041.18%2,92933.36%8,779
Vilas1,03850.07%87342.11%1195.74%432.07%1657.96%2,073
Walworth4,33533.13%7,48457.19%1,1628.88%1050.80%-3,149-24.06%13,086
Washburn2,04355.90%1,42238.91%1584.32%320.88%62116.99%3,655
Washington5,08162.49%1,98724.44%98012.05%831.02%3,09438.05%8,131
Waukesha6,34841.06%7,02645.45%1,96512.71%1200.78%-678-4.39%15,459
Waupaca6,39559.32%3,65433.89%6656.17%670.62%2,74125.42%10,781
Waushara2,60657.63%1,60235.43%2495.51%651.44%1,00422.20%4,522
Winnebago9,89142.86%11,23948.70%1,8017.80%1460.63%-1,348-5.84%23,077
Wood7,30363.83%3,46930.32%5484.79%1221.07%3,83433.51%11,442
Totals453,67853.96%311,61437.06%68,1158.10%7,4290.88%142,06416.90%840,836

Counties that flipped from Republican to Progressive

Analysis

La Follette carried 62 of Wisconsin's 72 counties, with Coolidge gaining majorities only in the heavily Yankee and pro-establishment counties bordering Illinois, in Pepin County on the western border, and in Marinette and Florence Counties bordering Michigan., this is the last time a third-party presidential candidate has carried a state outside the former Confederacy. This was the first presidential election in which a Republican won the White House without carrying Wisconsin, a feat which would only occur 3 more times (in 1988, 2000, and 2004).

Two very long bellwether streaks for Wisconsin counties were broken in this election. Winnebago County failed to back the statewide winner for the first time since 1848, which was the first presidential election that the state participated in. Kenosha County also failed to back the statewide winner for the first time since 1852, which was the first presidential election that the county had participated in. This was the last election in Wisconsin in which voters chose presidential electors directly. The state switched to the modern "short ballot" starting with the next election.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Burnham, Walter Dean; 'The System of 1896: An Analysis'; in The Evolution of American Electoral Systems, pp. 178-179
  2. Sundquist, James; Politics and Policy: The Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Years, p. 526
  3. Hansen, John Mark; Shigeo Hirano, and Snyder, James M. Jr.; 'Parties within Parties: Parties, Factions, and Coordinated Politics, 1900-1980'; in Gerber, Alan S. and Schickler, Eric; Governing in a Polarized Age: Elections, Parties, and Political Representation in America, pp. 165-168
  4. Crews, Kenneth D.; 'Woodrow Wilson, Wisconsin, and the Election of 1912'; Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 3: 'Presidents, Vice Presidents and Political Parties: Performance and Prospects' (Summer, 1982), pp. 369-376
  5. Leary, William M. (jr.); 'Woodrow Wilson, Irish Americans, and the Election of 1916'; The Journal of American History, Vol. 54, No. 1 (June 1967), pp. 57-72
  6. Morello, John A.; Albert D. Lasker, Advertising, and the Election of Warren G. Harding, p. 64
  7. Hough, Jerry F.; Changing Party Coalitions: The Mystery of the Red State-Blue State Alignment, pp. 86-87
  8. Moore, John A.; 'The Original Supply Siders: Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge'; The Independent Review, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Spring 2014), pp. 597-618
  9. Paulson, Arthur C.; Realignment and Party Revival: Understanding American Electoral Politics at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century, p. 51
  10. Ranney, Joseph A.; In the Wake of Slavery: Civil War, Civil Rights, and the Reconstruction of Southern Law; p. 141
  11. Newman, Roger K.; The Yale Biographical Dictionary of American Law, p. 153
  12. Richardson, Danny G.; Others: "Fighting Bob" La Follette and the Progressive Movement: Third-Party Politics in the 1920s, p. 180
  13. Richardson; Others, pp. 182-183
  14. Moreno, Paul D.; The American State from the Civil War to the New Deal: The Twilight of Constitutionalism and the Triumph of Progressivism, p. 205
  15. Parrish, Michael E.; Anxious Decades: America in Prosperity and Depression, 1920-1941, pp. 70-71
  16. 'La Follette's Managers Claiming Nine States'; The Ridgway News (Ridgway, Illinois), July 24, 1924, p. 1
  17. Tucker, Garland; High Tide of American Conservatism: Davis, Coolidge, and the 1924 Election, p. 191
  18. Tucker; High Tide of American Conservatism, p. 231
  19. Web site: 1924 Presidential Election Statistics. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. 2018-03-05.
  20. Wisconsin Historical Society, Certificate of Board of State Canvassers - Presidential Electors - 1924
  21. Book: State Printing Board . Summary Vote for Presidential Electors, November 4, 1924 . https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AZFV5VA4RAR4QZ8S/pages/APFQBAE7FA35DN8F . Wisconsin Blue Book. 1925. 506–517.

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