1886 Wisconsin gubernatorial election explained

The 1886 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1886.

Republican nominee Jeremiah McLain Rusk defeated Democratic nominee Gilbert M. Woodward, Union Labor Party nominee John Cochrane, and Prohibition nominee John Myers Olin with 46.53% of the vote.

General election

Candidates

Major party candidates

• Gilbert M. Woodward, Democratic, attorney, former member of the United States House of Representatives
• Jeremiah McLain Rusk, Republican, incumbent Governor

Other candidates

• John Myers Olin, Prohibition, lecturer in law at the University of Wisconsin,^[1] Prohibition nominee for Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district in 1884
• John Cochrane, Union Labor

Results by county

Marquette County voted Republican for the first time since 1857. Woodward was the first Democrat since 1859 to win Bayfield County and La Crosse County; the former would not vote Democratic again until 1918. Additionally, Sawyer County would not vote Democratic again until 1932.

County	Jeremiah M. Rusk Republican		Gilbert M. Woodward Democratic		John Cochrane Union Labor		John M. Olin Prohibition		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%
	Adams		966		73.07%		338		25.57%		2		0.15%		16		1.21%		628		47.50%		1,322
	Ashland		1,240		46.18%		1,355		50.47%		49		1.82%		41		1.53%		-115		-4.28%		2.685
	Barron		1,134		50.92%		646		29.01%		0		0.00%		447		20.07%		488		21.91%		2,227
	Bayfield		539		47.74%		575		50.93%		0		0.00%		15		1.33%		-36		-3.19%		1,129
	Brown		2,183		39.23%		2,850		51.22%		383		6.88%		147		2.64%		-667		-11.99%		5,564
	Buffalo		1,552		60.67%		957		37.41%		0		0.00%		48		1.88%		595		23.26%		2,558
	Burnett		461		75.08%		49		7.98%		0		0.00%		103		16.78%		358		48.30%		614
	Calumet		879		31.77%		1,720		62.16%		143		5.17%		25		0.90%		-841		-30.39%		2,767
	Chippewa		1,888		41.00%		2,406		52.25%		2		0.04%		309		6.71%		-518		-11.25%		4,605
	Clark		1,429		49.76%		959		33.39%		257		8.95%		227		7.90%		470		16.36%		2,872
	Columbia		2,820		51.31%		2,067		37.61%		6		0.11%		603		10.97%		753		13.70%		5,496
	Crawford		1,547		52.18%		1,356		45.73%		0		0.00%		62		2.09%		191		6.44%		2,965
	Dane		5,956		47.63%		5,219		41.73%		7		0.06%		1,322		10.57%		737		5.89%		12,506
	Dodge		3,289		37.06%		5,096		57.42%		187		2.11%		303		3.41%		-1,807		-20.36%		8,875
	Door		1,557		64.63%		776		32.21%		2		0.08%		74		3.07%		781		32.42%		2,409
	Douglas		326		49.77%		325		49.62%		0		0.00%		3		0.46%		1		0.15%		655
	Dunn		1,749		57.42%		744		24.43%		196		6.43%		357		11.72%		1,005		32.99%		3,046
	Eau Claire		2,102		45.88%		1,803		39.35%		37		0.81%		640		13.97%		299		6.53%		4,582
	Florence		336		81.95%		74		18.05%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		262		63.90%		410
	Fond du Lac		3,403		41.39%		3,972		48.32%		443		5.39%		402		4.89%		-569		-6.92%		8,221
	Forest		153		42.15%		209		57.58%		0		0.00%		1		0.28%		-56		-15.43%		363
	Grant		3,642		51.70%		2,684		38.10%		37		0.53%		675		9.58%		958		13.60%		7,045
	Green		2,114		46.92%		1,716		38.08%		4		0.09%		672		14.91%		398		8.83%		4,506
	Green Lake		1,601		54.90%		1,155		39.61%		2		0.07%		158		5.42%		446		15.29%		2,916
	Iowa		2,198		46.84%		1,961		41.79%		1		0.02%		533		11.36%		237		5.05%		4,693
	Jackson		1,744		61.06%		827		28.96%		50		1.75%		235		8.23%		917		32.11%		2,856
	Jefferson		2,635		41.48%		3,413		53.73%		43		0.68%		261		4.11%		-778		-12.25%		6,352
	Juneau		1,882		50.71%		1,585		42.71%		4		0.11%		240		6.47%		297		8.00%		3,711
	Kenosha		1,451		49.25%		1,398		47.45%		0		0.00%		95		3.22%		53		1.80%		2,946
	Kewaunee		689		26.65%		1,896		73.35%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		-1,207		-46.69%		2,585
	La Crosse		2,418		39.11%		2,824		45.68%		676		10.93%		264		4.27%		-406		-6.57%		6,182
	Lafayette		2,264		50.21%		1,873		41.54%		22		0.49%		349		7.74%		391		8.67%		4,509
	Langlade		713		44.40%		825		51.37%		0		0.00%		67		4.17%		-112		-6.97%		1,606
	Lincoln		994		47.83%		939		45.19%		23		1.11%		122		5.87%		55		2.65%		2,078
	Manitowoc		2,333		38.28%		3,700		60.71%		53		0.87%		9		0.15%		-1,367		-22.43%		6,095
	Marathon		1,923		39.08%		2,608		53.00%		367		7.46%		23		0.47%		-685		-13.92%		4,921
	Marinette		1,117		39.95%		594		21.24%		991		35.44%		94		3.36%		128		4.51%		2,796
	Marquette		1,088		52.79%		886		42.99%		4		0.19%		83		4.03%		202		9.80%		2,061
	Milwaukee		10,936		34.71%		7,472		23.71%		12,914		40.99%		185		0.59%		-1,978		-6.28%		31,508
	Monroe		2,304		51.08%		1,844		40.88%		5		0.11%		358		7.94%		460		10.20%		4,511
	Oconto		1,134		54.94%		851		41.23%		51		2.47%		28		1.36%		283		13.71%		2,064
	Outagamie		2,229		35.44%		3,454		54.91%		472		7.50%		135		2.15%		-1,225		-19.48%		6,290
	Ozaukee		660		24.39%		1,821		67.29%		213		7.87%		6		0.22%		-1,161		-42.90%		2,706
	Pepin		850		54.63%		417		26.80%		0		0.00%		289		18.57%		433		27.83%		1,556
	Pierce		2,034		63.88%		817		25.66%		0		0.00%		332		10.43%		1,217		38.22%		3,184
	Polk		1,478		68.11%		341		15.71%		0		0.00%		351		16.18%		1,127		51.93%		2,170
	Portage		1,858		48.47%		1,754		45.76%		1		0.03%		219		5.71%		104		2.71%		3,833
	Price		688		63.59%		376		34.75%		9		0.83%		9		0.83%		312		28.84%		1,082
	Racine		2,682		41.22%		1,788		27.48%		1,525		23.44%		511		7.85%		894		13.74%		6,507
	Richland		2,292		54.94%		1,527		36.60%		1		0.02%		352		8.44%		765		18.34%		4,172
	Rock		4,901		58.52%		2,686		32.07%		2		0.02%		786		9.39%		2,215		26.45%		8,375
	Sauk		2,740		51.92%		1,982		37.56%		11		0.21%		544		10.31%		758		14.36%		5,277
	Sawyer		228		30.65%		504		67.74%		0		0.00%		12		1.61%		-276		-37.10%		744
	Shawano		1,299		49.75%		1,263		48.37%		10		0.38%		39		1.49%		36		1.38%		2,611
	Sheboygan		2,779		42.96%		2,985		46.14%		580		8.97%		125		1.93%		-206		-3.18%		6,469
	St. Croix		2,229		46.15%		1,794		37.14%		218		4.51%		589		12.19%		435		9.01%		4,830
	Taylor		802		56.96%		585		41.55%		13		0.92%		6		0.43%		217		15.41%		1,408
	Trempealeau		1,784		56.28%		975		30.76%		1		0.03%		409		12.90%		809		25.52%		3,170
	Vernon		2,907		62.73%		1,364		29.43%		20		0.43%		343		7.40%		1,543		33.30%		4,634
	Walworth		3,129		58.88%		1,205		22.68%		223		4.20%		757		14.25%		1,924		36.21%		5,314
	Washburn		309		45.64%		222		32.79%		0		0.00%		146		21.57%		87		12.85%		677
	Washington		1,640		38.82%		2,516		59.55%		35		0.83%		34		0.80%		-876		-20.73%		4,225
	Waukesha		3,152		49.03%		2,862		44.52%		2		0.03%		413		6.42%		290		4.51%		6,429
	Waupaca		2,911		64.52%		1,344		29.79%		35		0.78%		222		4.92%		1,567		34.73%		4,512
	Waushara		1,926		74.74%		438		17.00%		0		0.00%		213		8.27%		1,488		57.74%		2,577
	Winnebago		3,783		43.01%		3,288		37.38%		1,116		12.69%		607		6.90%		495		5.63%		8,796
	Wood		1,268		42.15%		1,674		55.65%		19		0.63%		44		1.46%		-406		-13.50%		3,008
Total	133,247	46.53%	114,529	39.99%	21,467	7.50%	17,089	5.97%	18,718	6.54%	286,368

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Crawford
• Marquette
• Waukesha

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Ashland
• Bayfield
• Chippewa
• La Crosse
• Sawyer

Counties that flipped from Republican to Union Labor

• Milwaukee

Bibliography

• Book: Glashan, Roy R. . American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978 . Meckler Books . 1979 . 0-930466-17-9 .
• Book: Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997 . Washington, D.C. . Congressional Quarterly Inc. . 1998 . 1-56802-396-0 . .
• Book: Timme . Ernst G. . 1887 . The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin . The Milwaukee Litho. & Engr. Co. . .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Olin, John Myers 1851 - 1924 . . July 11, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210711013232/https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS11362 . July 11, 2021 . live.