1900 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

The 1900 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 6, 1900 as part of the 1900 United States presidential election. State voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1900 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

← 1896 November 6, 1900 1904 →
 
Nominee William McKinley William Jennings Bryan
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Ohio Nebraska
Running mate Theodore Roosevelt Adlai Stevenson I
Electoral vote 12 0
Popular vote 265,756 159,279
Percentage 60.04% 35.99%

County Results

President before election

William McKinley
Republican

Elected President

William McKinley
Republican

Wisconsin during the Third Party System was a Republican-leaning but competitive state whereby historically anti-Civil War German Catholic counties stood opposed to highly pro-war and firmly Republican Yankee areas.[1] However, following the Populist movement, whose inflationary monetary policies were opposed by almost all urban classes and viewed as dangerously radical by rural German Catholics,[2] Wisconsin’s upper classes, along with the majority of workers who followed them, completely fled from William Jennings Bryan’s agrarian and free silver sympathies.[3] Although in 1892 Grover Cleveland had become the first Democrat to carry the state since the formation of the Republican Party, in 1896 Wisconsin would prove to be Republican William McKinley’s strongest state outside the Northeast, as Bryan’s free silver monetary policy gained little support from dairy farmers who were less affected by drought or debt than wheat growers.[4]

Wisconsin would henceforth become almost a one-party polity dominated by the Republican Party.[5] The Democratic Party became entirely noncompetitive outside the previously anti-Yankee areas adjoining Lake Michigan in the eastern part of the state. In response to Democratic strength weakening severely after 1894, however, challenges within the state Republican Party from Robert M. La Follette would emerge rapidly, with the progressive reformer being elected Governor coincident with the presidential election.[6]

Despite McKinley’s large win in 1896, Wisconsin was considered doubtful at the beginning of the 1900 campaign.[7] However, by the middle of October expert opinion suggested strongly that McKinley would carry the state, and that the state’s Democrats were abandoning nominee William Jennings Bryan for the second consecutive election.[8] This was confirmed by polls just before Election Day,[9] and as it turned out McKinley essentially repeated his three-to-two success of 1896, winning by 24.05% and carrying all but four counties. McKinley's popular vote share of 60.04% broke his own record from the previous election for the largest by any candidate in Wisconsin to that point. Once again, this record would be broken in the next election.

Bryan had previously lost Wisconsin to McKinley four years earlier and would later lose the state again in 1908 to William Howard Taft.

Results

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General Election Results[10][a]
Party Pledged to Elector Votes
Republican Party William McKinley Willard A. Van Brunt 265,756[b]
Republican Party William McKinley Henry E. Roethe 265,710
Republican Party William McKinley Whitman A. Barber 265,694
Republican Party William McKinley William H. J. Kieckhefer 265,686
Republican Party William McKinley John Schuette 265,664
Republican Party William McKinley John Ochsner 265,651
Republican Party William McKinley Charles M. Fenelon 265,586
Republican Party William McKinley John D. Nelsenius 265,562
Republican Party William McKinley Atley Peterson 265,556
Republican Party William McKinley Fred A. Severance 265,546
Republican Party William McKinley George A. Yule 265,534
Republican Party William McKinley Augustus G. Wiessert 265,506
Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan Patrick O'Meara 159,279[c]
Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan John Rosch 159,136
Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan Frederick W. Von Cotzhausen 159,134
Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan George W. Stevenson 159,133
Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan Benjamin F. Sherman 159,109
Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan John Berger 159,090
Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan Henry J. Millman 159,081
Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan William N. Coffland 159,048
Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan George D. Cline 159,047
Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan Stephen Richmond 159,043
Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan August C. Voshardt 159,031
Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan Amos Holgate 159,020
Prohibition Party John G. Woolley Samuel D. Hastings 10,022
Prohibition Party John G. Woolley John W. Evans 10,010
Prohibition Party John G. Woolley William A. McKillop 10,003
Prohibition Party John G. Woolley Chris Solum 9,992
Prohibition Party John G. Woolley Benjamin F. Thomas 9,991
Prohibition Party John G. Woolley William Ager 9,989
Prohibition Party John G. Woolley Benjamin F. Parker 9,989
Prohibition Party John G. Woolley Lorenzo D. Fargo 9,979
Prohibition Party John G. Woolley James S. Thompson 9,979
Prohibition Party John G. Woolley Joshua H. Berkey 9,978
Prohibition Party John G. Woolley James P. Corse 9,974
Prohibition Party John G. Woolley George I. Constance 9,940
Social Democratic Party Eugene V. Debs August Mohr 7,051
Social Democratic Party Eugene V. Debs Frederic Heath 7,048
Social Democratic Party Eugene V. Debs William Anderson 7,043
Social Democratic Party Eugene V. Debs Joseph Braun 7,043
Social Democratic Party Eugene V. Debs Frank J. Ira 7,041
Social Democratic Party Eugene V. Debs Fred W. Rehfeld 7,030
Social Democratic Party Eugene V. Debs Jacob Hunger 7,022
Social Democratic Party Eugene V. Debs E. P. Hassinger 7,018
Social Democratic Party Eugene V. Debs Frank Gutheil 7,014
Social Democratic Party Eugene V. Debs Frederic Althen 7,010
Social Democratic Party Eugene V. Debs Otto Kundert 7,005
Social Democratic Party Eugene V. Debs Vincent Bezucha 6,984
Socialist Labor Party Joseph F. Maloney Otto E. Harder 505
Socialist Labor Party Joseph F. Maloney Ernst Pagel 505
Socialist Labor Party Joseph F. Maloney Max Boehme 504
Socialist Labor Party Joseph F. Maloney Hy. Mensing Sr. 503
Socialist Labor Party Joseph F. Maloney Joseph Petersen 503
Socialist Labor Party Joseph F. Maloney Ernst Koch 502
Socialist Labor Party Joseph F. Maloney John Meyer 502
Socialist Labor Party Joseph F. Maloney Charles Slaby 502
Socialist Labor Party Joseph F. Maloney Louis Brand 500
Socialist Labor Party Joseph F. Maloney Albert Roeder 498
Socialist Labor Party Joseph F. Maloney Carl Korn 497
Socialist Labor Party Joseph F. Maloney Louis Schienbein 496
Votes cast[d] 442,613

Results by county

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County[10] William McKinley
Republican
William Jennings Bryan
Democratic
John G. Woolley
Prohibition
Eugene V. Debs
Social Democratic
Joseph F. Maloney
Socialist Labor
Margin Total votes cast[e]
# % # % # % # % # % # %
Adams 1,513 77.47% 409 20.94% 29 1.48% 2 0.10% 0 0.00% 1,104 56.53% 1,953
Ashland 3,032 63.93% 1,559 32.87% 103 2.17% 42 0.89% 7 0.15% 1,473 31.06% 4,743
Barron 2,949 72.89% 944 23.33% 149 3.68% 4 0.10% 0 0.00% 2,005 49.56% 4,046
Bayfield 2,426 76.92% 632 20.04% 80 2.54% 8 0.25% 8 0.25% 1,794 56.88% 3,154
Brown 4,938 56.82% 3,585 41.25% 133 1.53% 28 0.32% 6 0.07% 1,353 15.57% 8,690
Buffalo 2,093 62.44% 1,204 35.92% 55 1.64% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 889 26.52% 3,352
Burnett 1,108 80.29% 216 15.65% 48 3.48% 2 0.14% 6 0.43% 892 64.64% 1,380
Calumet 1,629 45.14% 1,905 52.78% 54 1.50% 21 0.58% 0 0.00% -276 -7.65% 3,609
Chippewa 4,215 61.90% 2,443 35.88% 140 2.06% 9 0.13% 2 0.03% 1,772 26.02% 6,809
Clark 3,865 74.80% 1,156 22.37% 124 2.40% 15 0.29% 7 0.14% 2,709 52.43% 5,167
Columbia 4,756 65.64% 2,184 30.14% 282 3.89% 22 0.30% 2 0.03% 2,572 35.50% 7,246
Crawford 2,333 62.48% 1,356 36.31% 44 1.18% 0 0.00% 1 0.03% 977 26.16% 3,734
Dane 9,396 58.41% 6,129 38.10% 512 3.18% 44 0.27% 4 0.02% 3,267 20.31% 16,085
Dodge 4,785 44.37% 5,813 53.90% 177 1.64% 9 0.08% 1 0.01% -1,028 -9.53% 10,785
Door 2,363 76.23% 677 21.84% 57 1.84% 2 0.06% 1 0.03% 1,686 54.39% 3,100
Douglas 4,448 63.80% 2,191 31.43% 178 2.55% 133 1.91% 22 0.32% 2,257 32.37% 6,972
Dunn 3,044 70.79% 1,110 25.81% 144 3.35% 2 0.05% 0 0.00% 1,934 44.98% 4,300
Eau Claire 4,379 66.45% 1,966 29.83% 181 2.75% 61 0.93% 3 0.05% 2,413 36.62% 6,590
Florence 514 79.57% 110 17.03% 17 2.63% 3 0.46% 2 0.31% 404 62.54% 646
Fond du Lac 6,257 53.82% 5,137 44.19% 210 1.81% 20 0.17% 1 0.01% 1,120 9.63% 11,625
Forest 378 76.99% 94 19.14% 18 3.67% 1 0.20% 0 0.00% 284 57.84% 491
Grant 5,610 61.18% 3,250 35.45% 284 3.10% 22 0.24% 3 0.03% 2,360 25.74% 9,169
Green 2,996 60.21% 1,776 35.69% 164 3.30% 40 0.80% 0 0.00% 1,220 24.52% 4,976
Green Lake 2,084 56.46% 1,521 41.21% 81 2.19% 4 0.11% 1 0.03% 563 15.25% 3,691
Iowa 3,270 62.49% 1,746 33.37% 203 3.88% 14 0.27% 0 0.00% 1,524 29.12% 5,233
Iron 1,318 76.76% 357 20.79% 38 2.21% 3 0.17% 1 0.06% 961 55.97% 1,717
Jackson 2,639 77.75% 650 19.15% 103 3.03% 2 0.06% 0 0.00% 1,989 58.60% 3,394
Jefferson 3,725 46.20% 4,131 51.23% 199 2.47% 8 0.10% 0 0.00% -406 -5.04% 8,063
Juneau 2,914 63.35% 1,586 34.48% 98 2.13% 2 0.04% 0 0.00% 1,328 28.87% 4,600
Kenosha 3,077 58.38% 2,101 39.86% 63 1.20% 27 0.51% 3 0.06% 976 18.52% 5,271
Kewaunee 1,750 49.86% 1,726 49.17% 31 0.88% 3 0.09% 0 0.00% 24 0.68% 3,510
La Crosse 5,326 58.28% 3,605 39.45% 198 2.17% 9 0.10% 1 0.01% 1,721 18.83% 9,139
Lafayette 2,852 55.82% 2,101 41.12% 153 2.99% 2 0.04% 1 0.02% 751 14.70% 5,109
Langlade 1,595 58.23% 1,085 39.61% 48 1.75% 5 0.18% 6 0.22% 510 18.62% 2,739
Lincoln 2,146 56.68% 1,553 41.02% 70 1.85% 15 0.40% 2 0.05% 593 15.66% 3,786
Manitowoc 4,319 49.52% 4,162 47.72% 65 0.75% 171 1.96% 4 0.05% 157 1.80% 8,721
Marathon 4,716 54.33% 3,767 43.40% 132 1.52% 28 0.32% 37 0.43% 949 10.93% 8,680
Marinette 4,239 70.96% 1,538 25.74% 176 2.95% 17 0.28% 4 0.07% 2,701 45.21% 5,974
Marquette 1,558 63.05% 866 35.05% 47 1.90% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 692 28.00% 2,471
Milwaukee 34,809 52.56% 25,558 38.59% 751 1.13% 4,874 7.36% 235 0.35% 9,251 13.97% 66,227
Monroe 3,713 60.32% 2,248 36.52% 194 3.15% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,465 23.80% 6,155
Oconto 2,753 69.71% 1,117 28.29% 74 1.87% 3 0.08% 2 0.05% 1,636 41.43% 3,949
Oneida 1,801 70.24% 711 27.73% 37 1.44% 13 0.51% 2 0.08% 1,090 42.51% 2,564
Outagamie 5,244 55.15% 4,009 42.16% 224 2.36% 28 0.29% 3 0.03% 1,235 12.99% 9,508
Ozaukee 1,281 38.76% 1,965 59.46% 37 1.12% 21 0.64% 1 0.03% -684 -20.70% 3,305
Pepin 1,097 68.31% 470 29.27% 39 2.43% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 627 39.04% 1,606
Pierce 3,432 72.94% 1,042 22.15% 224 4.76% 6 0.13% 1 0.02% 2,390 50.80% 4,705
Polk 2,735 77.48% 694 19.66% 72 2.04% 16 0.45% 13 0.37% 2,041 57.82% 3,530
Portage 3,283 54.57% 2,635 43.80% 92 1.53% 4 0.07% 2 0.03% 648 10.77% 6,016
Price 1,725 74.32% 525 22.62% 55 2.37% 14 0.60% 2 0.09% 1,200 51.70% 2,321
Racine 5,921 58.36% 3,853 37.98% 233 2.30% 133 1.31% 5 0.05% 2,068 20.38% 10,145
Richland 2,594 59.54% 1,523 34.96% 230 5.28% 10 0.23% 0 0.00% 1,071 24.58% 4,357
Rock 8,247 69.95% 3,096 26.26% 403 3.42% 36 0.31% 8 0.07% 5,151 43.69% 11,790
Sauk 4,326 60.84% 2,493 35.06% 276 3.88% 12 0.17% 3 0.04% 1,833 25.78% 7,110
Sawyer 723 68.40% 307 29.04% 23 2.18% 4 0.38% 0 0.00% 416 39.36% 1,057
Shawano 3,242 67.29% 1,504 31.22% 68 1.41% 3 0.06% 1 0.02% 1,738 36.07% 4,818
Sheboygan 5,930 53.79% 4,044 36.68% 123 1.12% 880 7.98% 48 0.44% 1,886 17.11% 11,025
St. Croix 3,369 59.00% 2,076 36.36% 202 3.54% 52 0.91% 11 0.19% 1,293 22.64% 5,710
Taylor 1,419 57.47% 1,012 40.99% 22 0.89% 15 0.61% 1 0.04% 407 16.48% 2,469
Trempealeau 3,362 71.21% 1,190 25.21% 167 3.54% 1 0.02% 1 0.02% 2,172 46.01% 4,721
Vernon 4,463 75.58% 1,270 21.51% 154 2.61% 16 0.27% 2 0.03% 3,193 54.07% 5,905
Vilas 1,208 69.35% 486 27.90% 37 2.12% 10 0.57% 1 0.06% 722 41.45% 1,742
Walworth 5,104 71.42% 1,741 24.36% 293 4.10% 6 0.08% 2 0.03% 3,363 47.06% 7,146
Washburn 807 74.24% 249 22.91% 29 2.67% 1 0.09% 1 0.09% 558 51.33% 1,087
Washington 2,615 50.27% 2,522 48.48% 56 1.08% 7 0.13% 2 0.04% 93 1.79% 5,202
Waukesha 5,126 60.90% 3,016 35.83% 252 2.99% 19 0.23% 4 0.05% 2,110 25.07% 8,417
Waupaca 5,283 76.24% 1,382 19.95% 258 3.72% 3 0.04% 3 0.04% 3,901 56.30% 6,929
Waushara 2,990 82.03% 525 14.40% 127 3.48% 3 0.08% 0 0.00% 2,465 67.63% 3,645
Winnebago 7,464 55.69% 5,598 41.77% 306 2.28% 27 0.20% 8 0.06% 1,866 13.92% 13,403
Wood 3,134 61.12% 1,877 36.60% 76 1.48% 34 0.66% 7 0.14% 1,257 24.51% 5,128
Total 265,756[f] 60.04% 159,279[g] 35.99% 10,022 2.27% 7,051 1.59% 505 0.11% 106,480 24.05% 442,613

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The 1901 Blue Book gives the totals as McKinley 265,760; Bryan 159,163; Woolley 10,027; Debs 7,048; and Maloney 503. Based on the Board of Canvassers report, these totals are simply incorrect; no elector on the Republican, Democratic, or Prohibition tickets received those numbers of votes. Indeed, the Blue Book is an unreliable source for Wisconsin election data from about 1890 to 1920 and its figures frequently differ from the figures listed in the Board of Canvassers reports.
  2. ^ The county figures add up to 265,755
  3. ^ This stated total seems likely to be a mistake; the county figures add up to 159,079. If it is a mistake, then Rosch would be the highest Democratic elector. The Wisconsin Board of Canvassers reports for presidential electors often have mistakes (oddly, however, the reports for congressmen and state officers rarely have mistakes), though the 1900 election is unusual in that the report has mistakes for the highest electors on some tickets.
  4. ^ Based on totals for highest elector on each ticket
  5. ^ Based on highest elector on each ticket
  6. ^ The county figures add up to 265,755
  7. ^ The county figures add up to 159,079

References

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  1. ^ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 381-382, 414 ISBN 978-0-691-16324-6
  2. ^ Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 384
  3. ^ Sundquist, James; Politics and Policy: The Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Years, p. 526 ISBN 0815719094
  4. ^ Barry Eichengreen; Michael R. Haines; Matthew S. Jaremski; David Leblang. "Populists at the Polls: Economic Factors in the 1896 Presidential Election" (PDF). National Bureau of Economic Research.
  5. ^ Burnham, Walter Dean; 'The System of 1896: An Analysis'; in The Evolution of American Electoral Systems, pp. 178-179 ISBN 0313213798
  6. ^ Cooper, John Milton jr.; ‘Why Wisconsin? The Badger State in the Progressive Era’; The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Vol. 87, No. 3 (Spring, 2004), pp. 14-25
  7. ^ ‘An Election Forecast’; Courier-Democrat (Langdon, North Dakota), September 6, 1900, p. 4
  8. ^ ‘Wisconsin Democrats Abandining Bryan’; The Craig News (Craig, Nebraska), October 19, 1900, p. 7
  9. ^ ‘Four Years More of M‘Kinley’; Evening Times-Republican (Marshalltown, Iowa); November 6, 1900, p. 1
  10. ^ a b Wisconsin Historical Society, Tabular Statement of votes given for President and Vice President of the United States at the general election held in the several towns, wards, villages, and election districts in the several counties of the State of Wisconsin, on the Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday, being the sixth day of November A.D. 1900