1869 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

1869 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

November 2, 1869

Nominee Lucius Fairchild Charles D. Robinson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 69,502 61,239 Percentage 53.14% 46.83%

County results Fairchild :      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Robinson :      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election Lucius Fairchild Republican Elected Governor Lucius Fairchild Republican

The 1869 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1869. Incumbent Republican Party governor Lucius Fairchild won re-election with over 53% of the vote, defeating Democratic candidate Charles D. Robinson.^[1] Fairchild became the first person to win three terms as governor of Wisconsin.

Democratic Party

Charles D. Robinson was a businessman and newspaper publisher and had been the 3rd Secretary of State of Wisconsin. Prior to his nomination for Governor, Robinson had served in the Wisconsin State Assembly for one term, in 1850, had served as a Quartermaster with the Union Army during the American Civil War, and served one term as Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1866. He was the creator, writer, and publisher of the Democratic paper The Green Bay Advocate since 1846.^[2]

Other candidates

• Nicholas D. Fratt, of Racine, Wisconsin, was a respected farmer and businessman who had served one term in the Wisconsin State Senate. He was founder and president of the Racine County Bank.^[3]
• David W. Jones, of Iowa County, Wisconsin, had been the 5th Secretary of State of Wisconsin.^[3]

Republican Party

Lucius Fairchild was the incumbent Governor of Wisconsin, having been elected in the 1865 election and re-elected in 1867. Prior to his election as Governor, he was Wisconsin Secretary of State for one term. Fairchild had also been a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, having served as a colonel in the famous Iron Brigade when they participated in fierce fighting at Gettysburg. Fairchild lost an arm due to wounds sustained at Gettysburg, and was later awarded an honorary promotion to brigadier general.^[4]

Results

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election, 1869^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 2, 1869
	Republican	Lucius Fairchild (incumbent)	69,502	53.14%	+1.48pp
	Democratic	Charles D. Robinson	61,239	46.83%	-1.50pp
		Scattering	40	0.03%
Plurality			8,263	6.32%	+2.98pp
Total votes			130,781	100.0%	-8.24%
	Republican hold

References

1. Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, Wisconsin Legislature (2015). Wisconsin Blue Book 2015–2016. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Administration. pp. 699–701. ISBN 978-0-9752820-7-6.
2. "Charles D. Robinson (1822-1886)". Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
3. "Democratic Convention". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. September 9, 1869. p. 2. Retrieved July 11, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1960). "Wisconsin's former governors, 1848-1959". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1960 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 108–110. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
5. Theobald, H. Rupert, ed. (1966). "Statistical information on Wisconsin". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1966 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 607. Retrieved June 15, 2019.