United States presidential elections in Wisconsin
Presidential elections in Wisconsin Number of elections 44 Voted Democratic 19 Voted Republican 25 Voted other 1[ a] Voted for winning candidate 34 Voted for losing candidate 10
Since Wisconsin 's admission to the Union in May 1848,[ 1] it has participated in 44 U.S. presidential elections. In 1924 , Robert M. La Follette became the only third-party presidential candidate to win in Wisconsin, taking 53.96% of the popular vote. Since 1988 , Wisconsin has leaned towards the Democratic Party in presidential elections, although Republican Donald Trump won the state by a margin of 0.77 percentage points. Wisconsin is tied with Michigan and Pennsylvania for the longest active streak of voting for the winning candidate, last voting for a losing candidate in 2004 .
In the 2020 presidential election , Democrat Joe Biden won Wisconsin, defeating Trump by 0.62 percentage points. During the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count , 36 members of the House of Representatives objected to the certification of Wisconsin's electoral votes based on unsupported claims of election fraud, but the objection failed because it was not joined by a senator.[ 2]
Elections
Key for parties
Note – A double dagger (‡) indicates the national winner.
1848 to 1856
Election of 1860
The election of 1860 was a complex realigning election in which the breakdown of the previous two-party alignment culminated in four parties each competing for influence in different parts of the country. The result of the election, with the victory of an ardent opponent of slavery , spurred the secession of eleven states and brought about the American Civil War .
1864 to present
Presidential elections in Wisconsin from 1864 to present
Year
Winner
Runner-up
Other candidate[ b]
EV
Ref.
Candidate
Votes
%
Candidate
Votes
%
Candidate
Votes
%
1864
Abraham Lincoln (R) ‡
83,458
55.88%
George B. McClellan (D)
65,884
44.12%
–
–
–
8
1868
Ulysses S. Grant (R) ‡
108,920
56.25%
Horatio Seymour (D)
84,708
43.75%
–
–
–
8
1872
Ulysses S. Grant (R) ‡
105,012
54.62%
Horace Greeley (D)
86,390
44.94%
Charles O'Conor (SOD)
853
0.44%
10
1876
Rutherford B. Hayes (R) ‡
130,668
50.69%
Samuel Tilden (D)
123,927
48.07%
Peter Cooper (GB)
1,509
0.59%
10
[ 17]
1880
James A. Garfield (R) ‡
144,406
54.04%
Winfield S. Hancock (D)
114,650
42.91%
James B. Weaver (GB)
7,986
2.99%
10
1884
James G. Blaine (R)
161,155
50.39%
Grover Cleveland (D) ‡
146,447
45.79%
John P. St. John (PRO)
7,651
2.39%
11
1888
Benjamin Harrison (R) ‡
176,553
49.79%
Grover Cleveland (D)
155,232
43.77%
Clinton B. Fisk (PRO)
14,277
4.03%
11
1892
Grover Cleveland (D) ‡
177,325
47.73%
Benjamin Harrison (R)
171,101
46.06%
John Bidwell (PRO)
13,136
3.54%
12
1896
William McKinley (R) ‡
268,135
59.93%
William Jennings Bryan (D)
165,523
37.00%
Joshua Levering (PRO)
7,507
1.68%
12
1900
William McKinley (R) ‡
265,760
60.06%
William Jennings Bryan (D)
159,163
35.97%
John G. Woolley (PRO)
10,027
2.27%
12
1904
Theodore Roosevelt (R) ‡
280,314
63.21%
Alton B. Parker (D)
124,205
28.01%
Eugene V. Debs (S)
28,240
6.37%
13
1908
William Howard Taft (R) ‡
247,744
54.52%
William Jennings Bryan (D)
166,662
36.67%
Eugene V. Debs (S)
28,147
6.19%
13
1912
Woodrow Wilson (D) ‡
164,230
41.06%
William Howard Taft (R)
130,596
32.65%
Theodore Roosevelt (PR-1912)
62,448
15.61%
13
1916
Charles E. Hughes (R)
220,822
49.39%
Woodrow Wilson (D) ‡
191,363
42.80%
Allan L. Benson (S)
27,631
6.18%
13
1920
Warren G. Harding (R) ‡
498,576
71.10%
James M. Cox (D)
113,422
16.17%
Eugene V. Debs (S)
80,635
11.50%
13
1924
Robert LaFollette (PR-1924)
453,678
53.96%
Calvin Coolidge (R) ‡
311,614
37.06%
John W. Davis (D)
68,115
8.10%
13
1928
Herbert Hoover (R) ‡
544,205
53.52%
Alfred E. Smith (D)
450,259
44.28%
Norman M. Thomas (S)
18,213
1.79%
13
1932
Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) ‡
707,410
63.46%
Herbert Hoover (R)
347,741
31.19%
Norman M. Thomas (S)
53,379
4.79%
12
1936
Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) ‡
802,984
63.80%
Alfred Landon (R)
380,828
30.26%
William Lemke (Union)
60,297
4.79%
12
1940
Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) ‡
704,821
50.15%
Wendell L. Willkie (R)
679,206
48.32%
Norman M. Thomas (S)
15,071
1.07%
12
1944
Thomas E. Dewey (R)
674,532
50.37%
Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) ‡
650,413
48.57%
Norman M. Thomas (S)
13,205
0.99%
12
1948
Harry S. Truman (D) ‡
647,310
50.70%
Thomas E. Dewey (R)
590,959
46.28%
Henry A. Wallace (PR-1948)
25,282
1.98%
12
1952
Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) ‡
979,744
60.95%
Adlai Stevenson (D)
622,175
38.71%
Vincent Hallinan (PR-1948)
2,174
0.14%
12
1956
Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) ‡
954,844
61.58%
Adlai Stevenson (D)
586,768
37.84%
T. Coleman Andrews (C)
6,918
0.45%
12
1960
Richard M. Nixon (R)
895,175
51.77%
John F. Kennedy (D) ‡
830,805
48.05%
Farrell Dobbs (SWP)
1,792
0.10%
12
1964
Lyndon B. Johnson (D) ‡
1,050,424
62.09%
Barry Goldwater (R)
638,495
37.74%
Clifton DeBerry (SWP)
1,692
0.10%
12
1968
Richard M. Nixon (R) ‡
809,997
47.89%
Hubert Humphrey (D)
748,804
44.27%
George Wallace (AI)
127,835
7.56%
12
1972
Richard M. Nixon (R) ‡
989,430
53.40%
George McGovern (D)
810,174
43.72%
John G. Schmitz (A)
47,525
2.56%
11
1976
Jimmy Carter (D) ‡
1,040,232
49.44%
Gerald R. Ford (R)
1,004,987
47.76%
Eugene J. McCarthy (I)
34,943
1.66%
11
1980
Ronald Reagan (R) ‡
1,088,845
47.90%
Jimmy Carter (D)
981,584
43.18%
John B. Anderson (I)
160,657
7.07%
11
1984
Ronald Reagan (R) ‡
1,198,584
54.19%
Walter Mondale (D)
995,740
45.02%
David Bergland (LI)
4,883
0.22%
11
1988
Michael Dukakis (D)
1,126,794
51.41%
George H. W. Bush (R) ‡
1,047,499
47.80%
Ron Paul (LI)
5,157
0.24%
11
[ 73]
1992
Bill Clinton (D) ‡
1,041,066
41.13%
George H. W. Bush (R)
930,855
36.78%
Ross Perot (I)
544,479
21.51%
11
[ 75]
1996
Bill Clinton (D) ‡
1,071,971
48.81%
Bob Dole (R)
845,029
38.48%
Ross Perot (RE)
227,339
10.35%
11
[ 77]
2000
Al Gore (D)
1,242,987
47.83%
George W. Bush (R) ‡
1,237,279
47.61%
Ralph Nader (G)
94,070
3.62%
11
[ 79]
2004
John Kerry (D)
1,489,504
49.70%
George W. Bush (R) ‡
1,478,120
49.32%
Ralph Nader (RE)
16,390
0.55%
10
[ 81]
2008
Barack Obama (D) ‡
1,677,211
56.22%
John McCain (R)
1,262,393
42.31%
Ralph Nader (I)
17,605
0.59%
10
[ 83]
2012
Barack Obama (D) ‡
1,620,985
52.83%
Mitt Romney (R)
1,407,966
45.89%
Gary Johnson (I)
20,439
0.67%
10
[ 84]
2016
Donald Trump (R) ‡
1,405,284
47.22%
Hillary Clinton (D)
1,382,536
46.45%
Gary Johnson (LI)
106,674
3.58%
10
[ 85]
2020
Joe Biden (D) ‡
1,630,866
49.45%
Donald Trump (R)
1,610,184
48.82%
Jo Jorgensen (LI)
38,491
1.17%
10
[ 86]
Graph
See also
Note
^ Robert La Follette Sr., 1924
^ a b For purposes of these lists, other candidates are defined as those who were in third place in Wisconsin
References
^ "Today in History - May 29" . Library of Congress. Retrieved March 31, 2023 .
^ Vetterkind, Riley (January 8, 2021). "Scott Fitzgerald, Tom Tiffany sole Republicans from Wisconsin to object to Joe Biden certification" . madison.com . Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2023 .
^ Wisconsin Blue Book (1997 , p. 677) cited in Guide to U.S. Elections (2010 , pp. 768, 804)
^ Federal Elections 1988 (PDF) (Report). Federal Election Commission. 1988. p. 14. Retrieved April 1, 2023 .
^ Federal Elections 1992 (PDF) (Report). Federal Election Commission. 1992. pp. 10, 32. Retrieved April 1, 2023 .
^ Federal Elections 1996 (PDF) (Report). Federal Election Commission. 1996. pp. 12, 28. Retrieved March 31, 2023 .
^ Federal Elections 2000 (PDF) (Report). Federal Election Commission. 2000. pp. 12, 30. Retrieved March 31, 2023 .
^ Federal Elections 2004 (PDF) (Report). Federal Election Commission. 2004. pp. 6, 39. Retrieved March 31, 2023 .
^ Federal Elections 2008 (PDF) (Report). Federal Election Commission. 2008. pp. 6, 39. Retrieved March 31, 2023 .
^ Federal Elections 2012 (PDF) (Report). Federal Election Commission. 2012. pp. 6, 40. Retrieved March 31, 2023 .
^ Federal Elections 2016 (PDF) (Report). Federal Election Commission. 2016. pp. 6, 44. Retrieved March 31, 2023 .
^ "Official 2020 Presidential General Election Result" (PDF) . Federal Election Commission . pp. 2–8. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021 .
Works cited