The 1879 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1879. Incumbent Republican Governor William E. Smith ran for re-election to a second term. The Democratic convention initially nominated Alexander Mitchell for Governor, but Mitchell declined the nomination; in his place, Milwaukee attorney James Graham Jenkins received the nomination.[1] Smith and Jenkins also faced a Greenback candidate and a nominee from the nascent Prohibition Party in the general election.[2] Jenkins ultimately won re-election in a landslide, winning 53% of the vote Jenkins's 40%. Reuben May, the Greenback nominee, received only 7% of the vote, a significant erosion from the Party's 15% in 1877.
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 County results Smith : 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Jenkins : 40-50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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General election edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | William E. Smith (incumbent) | 100,535 | 53.19% | +8.98% | |
| Democratic | James Graham Jenkins | 75,030 | 39.70% | +0.13% | |
| Greenback | Reuben May | 12,996 | 6.88% | -7.84% | |
| Prohibition | W. R. Bloomfield | 387 | 0.20% | — | |
| Write-ins | 57 | 0.03% | — | ||
| Majority | 25,505 | 13.49% | +8.85% | ||
| Turnout | 189,005 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
References edit
- ^ Nesbit 1985, p. 577.
- ^ "Capital Notes". Mineral Point Weekly Tribune. Mineral Point, Wis. September 25, 1879. p. 4. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
- ^ Truesdell, J. A. (1880). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (PDF). pp. 270–271.
Bibliography edit
- Nesbit, Robert C. (1985). Thompson, William Fletcher (ed.). The History of Wisconsin: Urbanization and Industrialization, 1873-1893. Vol. 3. Madison, Wis.: State Historical Society of Wisconsin. ISBN 0-87020-122-0.