1940 United States presidential election in Wisconsin explained

See main article: article and 1940 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1940 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Country:	Wisconsin
Flag Year:	1913
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1936 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Previous Year:	1936
Next Election:	1944 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Next Year:	1944
Election Date:	November 5, 1940
Image1:	FDRoosevelt1938.png
Nominee1:	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State1:	New York^[1]
Running Mate1:	Henry A. Wallace
Electoral Vote1:	12
Popular Vote1:	704,821
Percentage1:	50.15%
Nominee2:	Wendell Willkie
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:	New York
Running Mate2:	Charles L. McNary
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	679,206
Percentage2:	48.32%
Map Size:	315px
President
Before Election:	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Franklin D. Roosevelt
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)

The 1940 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 5, 1940 as part of the 1940 United States presidential election. State voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Politics in Wisconsin since the Populist movement had been dominated by the Republican Party.^[2] The Democratic Party had been uncompetitive outside certain eastern German areas, as the upper classes, along with the majority of workers who followed them, fled from William Jennings Bryan’s agrarian and free silver sympathies.^[3] 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.^[4] This ultimately would develop into the Wisconsin Progressive Party in the late 1930s, which was opposed to the conservative German Democrats and to the national Republican Party, and allied with Franklin D. Roosevelt at the federal level.

In 1936, despite continuing Democratic gains in industrial and urban areas, German Catholic areas of Wisconsin gave substantial support to Union Party candidate William Lemke due to his support for rigid isolationism.^[5] When the next presidential election came, the Progressive Party had lost ground in 1938 but World War II had divided the country deeply on ethnic lines. Germans – especially German Catholics – and Irish Catholics believed Communism in the shape of Stalinist Russia was a much greater danger to the United States than Nazism and that the United States should not aid Britain and France,^[6] whereas the British and French, bound by ties to their homeland, were strongly in favor of such aid.

Republican nominee Willkie visited Wisconsin in his campaign in September, saying change was needed to make the American political system work.^[7] By late September opinion polls suggested he had the edge over Roosevelt in the state.^[8] Even as some other states of the Midwest moved towards President Roosevelt, Wisconsin was still seen as likely to go to Willkie as Senator Robert M. La Follette Jr. strongly opposed war aid to Britain and France.^[9] A Gallup poll four days before voting showed Willkie still ahead but falling.^[10]

In the end, however, unlike in Iowa, Michigan and Indiana, Roosevelt’s gains proved enough to pass Willkie, and he carried Wisconsin, although by a massively reduced margin compared to 1932 and 1936. Whereas Alf Landon had carried only four of Wisconsin’s seventy-one counties, Willkie carried forty-two. Most significantly, Willkie established the historically German “WOW counties” surrounding Milwaukee as reliable GOP strongholds that as of 2020 have not voted Democratic since except during Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide in 1964. Roosevelt’s win was due to his seventy-eight-thousand vote plurality in Milwaukee County, and to maintaining his strength in the unionized, Scandiavian-American northwest.

Several long bellwether streaks for Wisconsin counties were broken in this election. Most notably, this was the first time Green Lake ever voted for the losing candidate in Wisconsin. Other notable broken streaks include Iowa County voting for the statewide loser for the first time since 1864, Chippewa County voting for the statewide loser for the first time since 1880, and Shawano County voting for the statewide loser for the first time since 1884.

This is the fourth most recent election in which Wisconsin voted for a different candidate than neighboring Iowa, a phenomenon that has only been repeated three times since — in 1976, 2004, and 2020.

Results

1940 United States presidential election in Wisconsin^[11] ^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent)	704,821	50.15%	12
	Republican	Wendell Willkie	679,206	48.32%	0
	Socialist	Norman Thomas	15,071	1.07%	0
	Communist	Earl R. Browder	2,394	0.17%	0
	Prohibition	Roger W. Babson	2,148	0.15%	0
	Socialist Labor	John W. Aiken	1,882	0.13%	0
	Write-in	Scattering	18	0.00%	0
Totals			1,405,540	100.00%	12

Results by county

County	Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic		Wendell Willkie Republican		Norman Thomas Socialist		All Others Various		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%
	Adams		1,883		50.48%		1,818		48.74%		16		0.43%		13		0.35%		65		1.74%		3,730
	Ashland		5,586		60.01%		3,592		38.59%		29		0.31%		102		1.10%		1,994		21.42%		9,309
	Barron		6,183		43.46%		7,806		54.87%		107		0.75%		131		0.92%		-1,623		-11.41%		14,227
	Bayfield		4,387		59.75%		2,829		38.53%		52		0.71%		74		1.01%		1,558		21.22%		7,342
	Brown		19,526		54.18%		16,379		45.45%		78		0.22%		57		0.16%		3,147		8.73%		36,040
	Buffalo		2,516		37.69%		4,056		60.76%		74		1.11%		29		0.43%		-1,540		-23.07%		6,675
	Burnett		2,513		49.23%		2,510		49.17%		50		0.98%		32		0.63%		3		0.06%		5,105
	Calumet		2,324		30.08%		5,327		68.96%		51		0.66%		23		0.30%		-3,003		-38.87%		7,725
	Chippewa		7,250		44.83%		8,781		54.30%		72		0.45%		68		0.42%		-1,531		-9.47%		16,171
	Clark		4,683		32.48%		9,501		65.89%		118		0.82%		118		0.82%		-4,818		-33.41%		14,420
	Columbia		7,021		45.63%		8,260		53.68%		52		0.34%		54		0.35%		-1,239		-8.05%		15,387
	Crawford		3,595		43.35%		4,667		56.28%		8		0.10%		23		0.28%		-1,072		-12.93%		8,293
	Dane		40,331		64.23%		21,845		34.79%		409		0.65%		202		0.32%		18,486		29.44%		62,787
	Dodge		8,938		37.48%		14,651		61.43%		174		0.73%		86		0.36%		-5,713		-23.95%		23,849
	Door		2,750		33.29%		5,461		66.11%		28		0.34%		21		0.25%		-2,711		-32.82%		8,260
	Douglas		15,548		66.12%		7,695		32.72%		122		0.52%		150		0.64%		7,853		33.40%		23,515
	Dunn		4,545		39.05%		6,968		59.87%		61		0.52%		65		0.56%		-2,423		-20.82%		11,639
	Eau Claire		10,129		51.07%		9,595		48.38%		48		0.24%		60		0.30%		534		2.69%		19,832
	Florence		980		48.73%		1,008		50.12%		12		0.60%		11		0.55%		-28		-1.39%		2,011
	Fond du Lac		10,323		37.76%		16,804		61.46%		124		0.45%		91		0.33%		-6,481		-23.70%		27,342
	Forest		2,951		63.61%		1,672		36.04%		1		0.02%		15		0.32%		1,279		27.57%		4,639
	Grant		7,458		39.76%		11,143		59.40%		46		0.25%		112		0.60%		-3,685		-19.64%		18,759
	Green		4,565		44.05%		5,711		55.10%		48		0.46%		40		0.39%		-1,146		-11.06%		10,364
	Green Lake		2,357		32.23%		4,919		67.25%		9		0.12%		29		0.40%		-2,562		-35.03%		7,314
	Iowa		4,025		44.04%		4,978		54.46%		22		0.24%		115		1.26%		-953		-10.43%		9,140
	Iron		3,525		66.90%		1,672		31.73%		24		0.46%		48		0.91%		1,853		35.17%		5,269
	Jackson		3,975		51.09%		3,741		48.08%		26		0.33%		38		0.49%		234		3.01%		7,780
	Jefferson		7,842		43.16%		10,178		56.02%		93		0.51%		56		0.31%		-2,336		-12.86%		18,169
	Juneau		3,554		39.91%		5,268		59.15%		54		0.61%		30		0.34%		-1,714		-19.25%		8,906
	Kenosha		17,174		57.68%		12,182		40.91%		262		0.88%		159		0.53%		4,992		16.76%		29,777
	Kewaunee		3,389		46.60%		3,862		53.10%		11		0.15%		11		0.15%		-473		-6.50%		7,273
	La Crosse		13,079		48.58%		13,711		50.92%		72		0.27%		62		0.23%		-632		-2.35%		26,924
	Lafayette		4,315		45.81%		5,059		53.71%		23		0.24%		22		0.23%		-744		-7.90%		9,419
	Langlade		5,190		52.88%		4,523		46.09%		37		0.38%		64		0.65%		667		6.80%		9,814
	Lincoln		3,951		39.57%		5,812		58.21%		131		1.31%		90		0.90%		-1,861		-18.64%		9,984
	Manitowoc		13,142		50.30%		12,616		48.29%		248		0.95%		120		0.46%		526		2.01%		26,126
	Marathon		13,724		46.57%		15,264		51.80%		373		1.27%		108		0.37%		-1,540		-5.23%		29,469
	Marinette		7,703		49.75%		7,688		49.65%		48		0.31%		44		0.28%		15		0.10%		15,483
	Marquette		1,195		27.71%		3,086		71.57%		11		0.26%		20		0.46%		-1,891		-43.85%		4,312
	Milwaukee		209,861		59.75%		131,120		37.33%		8,484		2.42%		1,748		0.50%		78,741		22.42%		351,213
	Monroe		4,673		36.33%		8,042		62.52%		84		0.65%		64		0.50%		-3,369		-26.19%		12,863
	Oconto		5,273		45.55%		6,238		53.88%		37		0.32%		29		0.25%		-965		-8.34%		11,577
	Oneida		5,375		58.77%		3,694		40.39%		59		0.65%		18		0.20%		1,681		18.38%		9,146
	Outagamie		12,168		40.47%		17,733		58.98%		99		0.33%		67		0.22%		-5,565		-18.51%		30,067
	Ozaukee		3,662		41.98%		4,913		56.32%		125		1.43%		23		0.26%		-1,251		-14.34%		8,723
	Pepin		1,194		33.90%		2,272		64.51%		39		1.11%		17		0.48%		-1,078		-30.61%		3,522
	Pierce		3,259		32.59%		6,624		66.25%		69		0.69%		47		0.47%		-3,365		-33.65%		9,999
	Polk		4,979		44.27%		6,031		53.62%		185		1.64%		53		0.47%		-1,052		-9.35%		11,248
	Portage		10,148		63.78%		5,670		35.63%		50		0.31%		44		0.28%		4,478		28.14%		15,912
	Price		4,042		49.94%		3,879		47.93%		67		0.83%		105		1.30%		163		2.01%		8,093
	Racine		23,532		54.75%		18,753		43.63%		480		1.12%		213		0.50%		4,779		11.12%		42,978
	Richland		3,524		38.56%		5,527		60.48%		30		0.33%		58		0.63%		-2,003		-21.92%		9,139
	Rock		17,543		46.29%		20,141		53.15%		104		0.27%		110		0.29%		-2,598		-6.86%		37,898
	Rusk		3,578		49.97%		3,484		48.66%		42		0.59%		56		0.78%		94		1.31%		7,160
	Sauk		6,106		38.87%		9,363		59.61%		116		0.74%		122		0.78%		-3,257		-20.74%		15,707
	Sawyer		2,439		46.61%		2,745		52.46%		25		0.48%		24		0.46%		-306		-5.85%		5,233
	Shawano		5,241		44.51%		6,377		54.16%		94		0.80%		62		0.53%		-1,136		-9.65%		11,774
	Sheboygan		15,800		49.77%		15,305		48.21%		504		1.59%		138		0.43%		495		1.56%		31,747
	St. Croix		4,898		41.24%		6,857		57.74%		80		0.67%		41		0.35%		-1,959		-16.50%		11,876
	Taylor		3,771		49.11%		3,668		47.77%		190		2.47%		49		0.64%		103		1.34%		7,678
	Trempealeau		5,175		48.92%		5,319		50.28%		40		0.38%		45		0.43%		-144		-1.36%		10,579
	Vernon		5,776		46.24%		6,614		52.95%		25		0.20%		77		0.62%		-838		-6.71%		12,492
	Vilas		2,470		51.48%		2,251		46.92%		25		0.52%		52		1.08%		219		4.56%		4,798
	Walworth		5,449		31.77%		11,594		67.59%		62		0.36%		49		0.29%		-6,145		-35.82%		17,154
	Washburn		2,901		50.35%		2,805		48.68%		20		0.35%		36		0.62%		96		1.67%		5,762
	Washington		4,683		35.00%		8,501		63.54%		150		1.12%		46		0.34%		-3,818		-28.54%		13,380
	Waukesha		12,859		42.94%		16,726		55.86%		287		0.96%		72		0.24%		-3,867		-12.91%		29,944
	Waupaca		4,616		29.09%		11,099		69.95%		87		0.55%		64		0.40%		-6,483		-40.86%		15,866
	Waushara		1,747		26.13%		4,872		72.88%		27		0.40%		39		0.58%		-3,125		-46.75%		6,685
	Winnebago		15,570		45.08%		18,697		54.14%		64		0.19%		204		0.59%		-3,127		-9.05%		34,535
	Wood		8,574		46.59%		9,654		52.46%		97		0.53%		77		0.42%		-1,080		-5.87%		18,402
Totals	704,821	50.15%	679,206	48.32%	15,071	1.07%	6,442	0.46%	25,615	1.82%	1,405,540

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Barron
• Buffalo
• Calumet
• Chippewa
• Clark
• Columbia
• Crawford
• Dodge
• Door
• Dunn
• Florence
• Fond du Lac
• Grant
• Green
• Green Lake
• Iowa
• Jefferson
• Juneau
• Kewaunee
• La Crosse
• Lafayette
• Lincoln
• Marathon
• Monroe
• Oconto
• Outagamie
• Ozaukee
• Pepin
• Pierce
• Polk
• Rock
• Sauk
• Sawyer
• Shawano
• St. Croix
• Trempealeau
• Vernon
• Washington
• Waukesha
• Waupaca
• Winnebago
• Wood

Electors

These were the names of the electors on each ticket.^[11]

See also

• United States presidential elections in Wisconsin

Notes and References

1. Web site: U. S. Electoral College . Archives.gov . 2016-08-18.
2. Burnham, Walter Dean; 'The System of 1896: An Analysis'; in The Evolution of American Electoral Systems, pp. 178-179
3. Sundquist, James; Politics and Policy: The Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Years, p. 526
4. 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
5. [Kevin Phillips (political commentator)|Phillips, Kevin P.]
6. Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 47, 159
7. Hagery, James A.; ‘Willkie Demands Out System Stand: Change of Administration Is Needed to Save Democracy, He Says in Wisconsin “Must Make System Work”’; The New York Times, September 28, 1940, p. 1
8. Grimes, W.H.; ‘Willkie’s Chances In Midwest: Editors Give Him Edge in Nebraska, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana’; The Wall Street Journal, September 25, 1940, p. 1
9. Catledge, Turner; ‘Wisconsin Trend Buck Roosevelt: Anti-War Feeling Is the Main Factor Involved – Betting Odds 11 to 10 for Willkie’; The New York Times, October 28, 1940, p. 8
10. Gallup, George; ‘The Gallup Poll: Willkie Gain in 3 States, but Roosevelt Reverses Trend in Michigan’; Daily Boston Globe, November 2, 1940, p. 1
11. Wisconsin Historical Society, Certificate of Board of State Canvassers Relative to Presidential Candidates and Presidential Electors - November 5, 1940
12. Book: The Wisconsin Blue Book 1942. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library. Summary Vote For President By Counties. Madison, Wisconsin. 654.