1944 Wisconsin gubernatorial election explained

The 1944 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1944.

Incumbent Republican Governor Walter Samuel Goodland defeated Democratic nominee Daniel Hoan with 52.84% of the vote.

Primary election

Primary elections were held on August 15, 1944.

Democratic party

Candidates

• Daniel Hoan, former mayor of Milwaukee
• John N. Zimmermann, purchasing agent^[1]

Results

Republican party

Candidates

• Walter S. Goodland, incumbent governor
• Roland E. Kannenberg, former State Senator^[2]
• Delbert J. Kenny, businessman^[3]
• Milton T. Murray, State Senator and unsuccessful candidate for Republican nomination for governor in 1942
• Christian J. Otjen, lawyer and soldier^[4]

Results

Progressive party

Candidates

• Ralph F. Amoth
• , president of the Aid Association for Lutherans^[5]
• John H. Kaiser, Progressive candidate for Secretary of State in 1942
• Leo E. Vaudreuil, former Deputy Attorney General of Wisconsin^[6]

Results

General election

Candidates

Major party candidates

• Walter Samuel Goodland, Democratic
• Daniel Hoan, Republican
• Alexander O. Benz, Progressive

Other candidates

• Georgia Cozzini, Socialist Labor, candidate for governor in 1942
• George A. Nelson, Socialist, candidate for governor in 1934

Results by county

County	Walter S. Goodland Republican		Daniel W. Hoan Democratic		Alexander O. Benz Progressive		All Others Various		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%
	Adams		1,769		61.62%		871		30.34%	207	7.21%		24		0.84%		898		31.28%		2,871
	Ashland		3,638		47.66%		3,281		42.98%	684	8.96%		31		0.41%		357		4.68%		7,634
	Barron		6,838		56.92%		2,854		23.76%	2,238	18.63%		84		0.70%		3,984		33.16%		12,014
	Bayfield		2,778		49.10%		2,309		40.81%	531	9.38%		40		0.71%		469		8.29%		5,658
	Brown		16,034		46.98%		16,039		47.00%	1,989	5.83%		66		0.19%		-5		-0.01%		34,128
	Buffalo		3,524		70.83%		1,006		20.22%	395	7.94%		50		1.01%		2,518		50.61%		4,975
	Burnett		2,123		55.42%		1,168		30.49%	493	12.87%		47		1.23%		955		24.93%		3,831
	Calumet		5,047		67.46%		1,800		24.06%	616	8.23%		19		0.25%		3,247		43.40%		7,482
	Chippewa		7,760		56.38%		4,321		31.39%	1,590	11.55%		93		0.68%		3,439		24.99%		13,764
	Clark		6,990		57.91%		3,088		25.58%	1,935	16.03%		58		0.48%		3,902		32.33%		12,071
	Columbia		9,451		68.45%		3,846		27.85%	478	3.46%		33		0.24%		5,605		40.59%		13,808
	Crawford		4,488		63.48%		2,455		34.72%	109	1.54%		18		0.25%		2,033		28.76%		7,070
	Dane		33,742		56.78%		21,357		35.94%	4,099	6.90%		226		0.38%		12,385		20.84%		59,424
	Dodge		14,136		64.58%		6,132		28.01%	1,566	7.15%		55		0.25%		8,004		36.57%		21,889
	Door		5,598		70.34%		1,902		23.90%	438	5.50%		20		0.25%		3,696		46.44%		7,958
	Douglas		7,874		39.86%		9,035		45.73%	2,697	13.65%		150		0.76%		-1,161		-5.88%		19,756
	Dunn		6,083		65.00%		2,219		23.71%	1,015	10.85%		41		0.44%		3,864		41.29%		9,358
	Eau Claire		10,553		59.12%		5,411		30.31%	1,814	10.16%		72		0.40%		5,142		28.81%		17,850
	Florence		792		51.13%		685		44.22%	55	3.55%		17		1.10%		107		6.91%		1,549
	Fond du Lac		16,432		62.86%		8,111		31.03%	1,514	5.79%		85		0.33%		8,321		31.83%		26,142
	Forest		1,268		34.53%		2,302		62.69%	96	2.61%		6		0.16%		-1,034		-28.16%		3,672
	Grant		11,853		75.06%		3,570		22.61%	324	2.05%		44		0.28%		8,283		52.45%		15,791
	Green		7,065		75.31%		2,045		21.80%	249	2.65%		22		0.23%		5,020		53.51%		9,381
	Green Lake		4,802		72.11%		1,581		23.74%	259	3.89%		17		0.26%		3,221		48.37%		6,659
	Iowa		6,015		73.64%		1,911		23.40%	221	2.71%		21		0.26%		4,104		50.24%		8,168
	Iron		1,314		34.62%		2,322		61.17%	142	3.74%		18		0.47%		-1,008		-26.55%		3,796
	Jackson		3,542		61.16%		1,243		21.46%	989	17.08%		17		0.29%		2,299		39.70%		5,791
	Jefferson		10,882		63.53%		5,308		30.99%	894	5.22%		44		0.26%		5,574		32.54%		17,128
	Juneau		4,811		65.64%		1,905		25.99%	592	8.08%		21		0.29%		2,906		39.65%		7,329
	Kenosha		11,543		37.70%		17,487		57.11%	1,335	4.36%		255		0.83%		-5,944		-19.41%		30,620
	Kewaunee		3,673		56.39%		2,252		34.58%	564	8.66%		24		0.37%		1,421		21.82%		6,513
	La Crosse		14,531		59.04%		8,086		32.85%	1,953	7.93%		44		0.18%		6,445		26.18%		24,614
	Lafayette		5,559		68.89%		2,356		29.20%	142	1.76%		12		0.15%		3,203		39.70%		8,069
	Langlade		3,853		47.39%		3,854		47.40%	394	4.85%		30		0.37%		-1		-0.01%		8,131
	Lincoln		5,304		62.40%		2,180		25.65%	936	11.01%		80		0.94%		3,124		36.75%		8,500
	Manitowoc		12,456		47.86%		10,940		42.04%	2,524	9.70%		104		0.40%		1,516		5.83%		26,024
	Marathon		15,538		53.60%		10,328		35.63%	2,864	9.88%		259		0.89%		5,210		17.97%		28,989
	Marinette		7,419		56.13%		5,433		41.10%	323	2.44%		43		0.33%		1,986		15.02%		13,218
	Marquette		2,902		76.51%		720		18.98%	166	4.38%		5		0.13%		2,182		57.53%		3,793
	Milwaukee		140,914		39.42%		201,343		56.33%	9,730	2.72%		5,462		1.53%		-60,429		-16.91%		357,449
	Monroe		7,940		70.71%		2,602		23.17%	622	5.54%		65		0.58%		5,338		47.54%		11,229
	Oconto		5,879		57.28%		3,746		36.50%	596	5.81%		43		0.42%		2,133		20.78%		10,264
	Oneida		3,636		50.90%		3,231		45.23%	226	3.16%		50		0.70%		405		5.67%		7,143
	Outagamie		13,947		49.60%		6,943		24.69%	7,151	25.43%		80		0.28%		6,796		24.17%		28,121
	Ozaukee		5,677		62.23%		3,016		33.06%	382	4.19%		48		0.53%		2,661		29.17%		9,123
	Pepin		2,101		75.85%		511		18.45%	138	4.98%		20		0.72%		1,590		57.40%		2,770
	Pierce		5,578		72.76%		1,654		21.58%	396	5.17%		38		0.50%		3,924		51.19%		7,666
	Polk		5,537		58.84%		2,286		24.29%	1,310	13.92%		277		2.94%		3,251		34.55%		9,410
	Portage		6,066		43.80%		7,382		53.30%	333	2.40%		68		0.49%		-1,316		-9.50%		13,849
	Price		3,205		48.25%		2,925		44.03%	455	6.85%		58		0.87%		280		4.21%		6,643
	Racine		17,679		39.72%		25,746		57.84%	897	2.02%		192		0.43%		-8,067		-18.12%		44,514
	Richland		5,862		73.48%		1,962		24.59%	116	1.45%		38		0.48%		3,900		48.88%		7,978
	Rock		21,175		60.57%		12,794		36.60%	918	2.63%		70		0.20%		8,381		23.98%		34,957
	Rusk		3,456		55.38%		2,495		39.98%	267	4.28%		23		0.37%		961		15.40%		6,241
	Sauk		10,851		71.64%		3,724		24.59%	490	3.24%		81		0.53%		7,127		47.06%		15,146
	Sawyer		2,359		56.07%		1,504		35.75%	311	7.39%		33		0.78%		855		20.32%		4,207
	Shawano		8,277		65.37%		2,939		23.21%	1,395	11.02%		50		0.39%		5,338		42.16%		12,661
	Sheboygan		14,981		47.67%		14,190		45.15%	1,755	5.58%		502		1.60%		791		2.52%		31,428
	St. Croix		6,744		65.90%		3,014		29.45%	428	4.18%		48		0.47%		3,730		36.45%		10,234
	Taylor		3,330		51.40%		2,536		39.14%	417	6.44%		196		3.03%		794		12.25%		6,479
	Trempealeau		5,244		62.71%		1,957		23.40%	1,139	13.62%		22		0.26%		3,287		39.31%		8,362
	Vernon		7,067		66.15%		2,950		27.61%	642	6.01%		24		0.22%		4,117		38.54%		10,683
	Vilas		1,822		45.19%		2,090		51.84%	105	2.60%		15		0.37%		-268		-6.65%		4,032
	Walworth		12,240		74.33%		3,817		23.18%	362	2.20%		47		0.29%		8,423		51.15%		16,466
	Washburn		2,316		54.19%		1,515		35.45%	413	9.66%		30		0.70%		801		18.74%		4,274
	Washington		8,695		68.07%		3,420		26.77%	635	4.97%		24		0.19%		5,275		41.29%		12,774
	Waukesha		19,112		61.34%		11,014		35.35%	872	2.80%		162		0.52%		8,098		25.99%		31,160
	Waupaca		11,104		72.64%		2,700		17.66%	1,443	9.44%		40		0.26%		8,404		54.97%		15,287
	Waushara		4,755		79.10%		972		16.17%	260	4.33%		24		0.40%		3,783		62.93%		6,011
	Winnebago		19,893		61.56%		10,601		32.80%	1,651	5.11%		172		0.53%		9,292		28.75%		32,317
	Wood		10,318		63.74%		5,065		31.29%	743	4.59%		61		0.38%		5,253		32.45%		16,187
Total	697,740	52.84%	536,357	40.62%	76,028	5.76%	10,358	0.78%	161,383	12.22%	1,320,483

Counties that flipped from Progressive to Republican

• Adams
• Ashland
• Barron
• Bayfield
• Buffalo
• Burnett
• Chippewa
• Clark
• Columbia
• Dane
• Dodge
• Door
• Dunn
• Eau Claire
• Grant
• Green
• Iowa
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Juneau
• La Crosse
• Lincoln
• Manitowoc
• Marathon
• Monroe
• Oconto
• Oneida
• Ozaukee
• Pierce
• Polk
• Richland
• Rock
• Rusk
• Sauk
• St. Croix
• Taylor
• Trempealeau
• Vernon
• Washburn
• Waukesha
• Waupaca
• Wooda

Counties that flipped from Progressive to Democratic

• Brown
• Douglas
• Forest
• Iron
• Langlade
• Milwaukee
• Portage
• Racine
• Vilas

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Kenosha

Bibliography

• Book: Gubernatorial Elections, 1787–1997 . Washington, D.C. . Congressional Quarterly Inc. . 1998 . 1-56802-396-0 . .
• Book: Ohm . Howard F. . Kuehn . Hazel L. . 1946 . The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1946 . State of Wisconsin . .

Notes and References

1. News: . CIO Actionists Face Wisconsin Test Today . Evening Star . Washington, D.C. . 15 August 1944 . A-3 . 27 February 2021.
2. News: Former State Senator Kannenberg Dies. Wausau Daily Herald. November 17, 1983. 6. Newspapers.com. July 30, 2018.
3. News: . Only One Candidate Has All The Qualifications . Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune . Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin . 14 August 1944 . 2 . 27 February 2021.
4. News: . Col. C. J. Otjen, Milwaukee Civic Leader And Soldier, Dies . The Sheboygan Press . Sheboygan, Wisconsin . 17 July 1950 . 3 . 27 February 2021.
5. News: . Benz To Seek Nomination . Wisconsin State Journal . Madison, Wisconsin . 2 May 1944 . 16 . 27 February 2021.
6. News: . Vaudreuil For Governor, But No Statement . Kenosha Evening News . Kenosha, Wisconsin . 25 May 1944 . 1 . 27 February 2021.