1875 Wisconsin gubernatorial election explained

The 1875 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1875. Republican Party candidate Harrison Ludington was elected with 50% of the vote, narrowly defeating incumbent Democratic governor William Robert Taylor.

Taylor was once again nominated as the consensus candidate of the "Reform Party," - a coalition of Democrats, Liberal Republicans, and Grangers. He was opposed by Ludington, who disagreed with the regulations placed on railroads and in turn received the support of railroad companies. The reelection defeat of Taylor prompted the dissolution of the Reform coalition, with the Grangers standing their own candidate under the Greenback Party in the following election.

Nominations

Democratic (Reform) party

William Robert Taylor was the incumbent governor of Wisconsin, having been elected in the 1873 election. Previously, he had served as trustee for the State Hospital of the Insane, the president of the state agriculture society, had been chairman of the Cottage Grove town board, and the Dane County board of supervisors, and had been a member of the Wisconsin State Senate and Assembly.

Republican party

Harrison Ludington, at the time of the 1875 election, served as Mayor of Milwaukee. Previously he had been elected as a Milwaukee alderman for two terms, having been a businessman working in merchandising, lumber and construction until then.

Results

Results by county

Oconto County voted for the losing candidate for the first time since 1859; this would not occur again until 1958. Kenosha County also voted for the losing candidate for the first time since 1853 and would not do so again until 1910.

County	Harrison Ludington Republican		William R. Taylor Democratic		C. F. Hammond Prohibition[1]		Scattering Write-in		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%
	Adams		705		66.01%		362		33.90%		0		0.00%		1		0.09%		343		32.12%		1,068
	Ashland		77		44.00%		98		56.00%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-21		-12.00%		175
	Barron		501		70.86%		206		29.14%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		295		41.73%		707
	Bayfield		75		68.18%		35		31.82%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		40		36.36%		110
	Brown		1,716		41.83%		2,385		58.14%		0		0.00%		1		0.02%		-669		-16.31%		4,102
	Buffalo		696		45.25%		841		54.68%		0		0.00%		1		0.07%		-145		-9.43%		1,538
	Burnett		312		96.89%		10		3.11%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		302		93.79%		322
	Calumet		449		28.29%		1,137		71.64%		0		0.00%		1		0.06%		-688		-43.35%		1,587
	Chippewa		714		40.94%		1,030		59.06%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-316		-18.12%		1,744
	Clark		717		57.73%		525		42.27%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		192		15.46%		1,242
	Columbia		2,413		59.36%		1,618		39.80%		31		0.76%		3		0.07%		795		19.56%		4,065
	Crawford		847		43.37%		1,106		56.63%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-259		-13.26%		1,953
	Dane		4,457		47.94%		4,823		51.88%		0		0.00%		17		0.18%		-366		-3.94%		9,297
	Dodge		2,503		34.78%		4,685		65.10%		9		0.13%		0		0.00%		-2,182		-30.32%		7,197
	Door		453		55.31%		366		44.69%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		87		10.62%		819
	Douglas		34		30.63%		77		69.37%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-43		-38.74%		111
	Dunn		1,159		57.18%		867		42.77%		0		0.00%		1		0.05%		292		14.41%		2,027
	Eau Claire		1,641		60.40%		1,076		39.60%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-565		-20.79%		2,717
	Fond du Lac		3,392		44.75%		3,973		52.41%		214		2.82%		1		0.01%		-581		-7.66%		7,580
	Grant		3,182		57.85%		2,318		42.15%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		864		15.71%		5,500
	Green		1,960		54.92%		1,595		44.69%		0		0.00%		14		0.39%		365		10.23%		3,569
	Green Lake		1,127		57.24%		795		40.38%		47		2.39%		0		0.00%		332		16.86%		1,969
	Iowa		1,593		48.88%		1,665		51.09%		0		0.00%		1		0.03%		-72		-2.21%		3,259
	Jackson		992		65.61%		491		32.47%		29		1.92%		0		0.00%		501		33.13%		1,512
	Jefferson		2,300		43.91%		2,938		56.09%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-638		-12.18%		5,238
	Juneau		1,306		57.41%		968		42.55%		1		0.04%		0		0.00%		338		14.86%		2,275
	Kenosha		1,086		48.99%		1,131		51.01%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-45		-2.03%		2,217
	Kewaunee		226		18.57%		991		81.43%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-765		-62.86%		1,217
	La Crosse		1,872		51.84%		1,739		48.16%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		133		3.68%		3,611
	Lafayette		1,673		50.45%		1,642		49.52%		0		0.00%		1		0.03%		31		0.93%		3,316
	Lincoln		49		41.88%		68		58.12%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-19		-16.24%		117
	Manitowoc		1,406		34.92%		2,620		65.08%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-1,214		-30.15%		4,026
	Marathon		365		27.20%		977		72.80%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-612		-45.60%		1,342
	Marquette		463		39.27%		716		60.73%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-253		-21.46%		1,179
	Milwaukee		6,042		44.90%		7,415		55.10%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-1,373		-10.20%		13,457
	Monroe		1,557		55.77%		1,235		44.23%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		322		11.53%		2,792
	Oconto		873		44.38%		1,092		55.52%		0		0.00%		2		0.10%		-219		-11.13%		1,967
	Outagamie		1,198		32.25%		2,517		67.75%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-1,319		-35.50%		3,715
	Ozaukee		460		21.75%		1,652		78.11%		0		0.00%		3		0.14%		-1,192		-56.36%		2,115
	Pepin		452		62.52%		270		37.34%		0		0.00%		1		0.14%		182		25.17%		723
	Pierce		1,065		57.35%		791		42.60%		0		0.00%		1		0.05%		274		14.75%		1,857
	Polk		817		73.21%		299		26.79%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		518		46.42%		1,116
	Portage		1,265		60.73%		818		39.27%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		447		21.46%		2,083
	Racine		1,955		49.05%		2,031		50.95%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-76		-1.91%		3,986
	Richland		1,522		57.33%		1,132		42.64%		0		0.00%		1		0.04%		390		14.69%		2,655
	Rock		3,734		68.25%		1,718		31.40%		18		0.33%		1		0.02%		2,016		36.85%		5,471
	Sauk		2,242		63.08%		1,310		36.86%		0		0.00%		2		0.06%		932		26.22%		3,554
	Shawano		271		37.17%		448		61.45%		0		0.00%		10		1.37%		-177		-24.28%		729
	Sheboygan		1,723		43.75%		2,215		56.25%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-492		-12.49%		3,938
	St. Croix		1,185		42.83%		1,582		57.17%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-397		-14.35%		2,767
	Taylor		90		49.18%		93		50.82%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-3		-1.64%		183
	Trempealeau		1,077		64.49%		520		31.14%		0		0.00%		73		4.37%		557		33.35%		1,670
	Vernon		1,784		71.94%		696		28.06%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		1,088		43.87%		2,480
	Walworth		2,825		68.89%		1,272		31.02%		3		0.07%		1		0.02%		1,553		37.87%		4,101
	Washington		723		23.85%		2,305		76.02%		0		0.00%		4		0.13%		-1,582		-52.18%		3,032
	Waukesha		2,533		50.72%		2,461		49.28%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		72		1.44%		4,994
	Waupaca		1,869		61.08%		1,191		38.92%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		678		22.16%		3,060
	Waushara		1,379		81.45%		313		18.49%		1		0.06%		0		0.00%		1,066		62.97%		1,693
	Winnebago		3,634		57.39%		2,591		40.92%		107		1.69%		0		0.00%		1,043		16.47%		6,332
	Wood		419		46.97%		473		53.03%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-54		-6.05%		892
Total	85,155	50.07%	84,314	49.58%	460	0.27%	141	0.08%	841	0.49%	170,070

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Clark
• Eau Claire
• Jackson
• Lafayette
• Pierce
• Waukesha

Notes and References

1. Book: The Tribune Almanac and Political Register for 1876. Election Returns. 1876. 58. The Tribune Association. New York, New York.