1909 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
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The 1909 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held in the 49th Wisconsin Legislature between January 27, 1909, and March 4, 1909. Incumbent Republican U.S. senator Isaac Stephenson was ultimately re-elected on the 23rd ballot after more than a month of voting and negotiation.[1]
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January 27, 1909 â March 4, 1909
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In the 1909 term, Republicans held overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, so had more than enough votes to elect a Republican United States senator. However, this was the first U.S. Senate election in Wisconsin after the passage of the state law which established primary elections for determining party nominees. This led to considerable turmoil in the legislative joint session, as the winner of the Republican primary (Stephenson) lacked majority support in the Republican caucus and received only 31% of the primary vote. The issue was exacerbated by allegations that Stephenson had committed campaign finance violations during the primary.
Both chambers initially voted on January 26 in sufficient numbers to re-elect Stephenson, but at the joint session on January 27, the presiding officer, Lieutenant Governor John Strange, ignored a motion to read the results and pronounce Stephenson elected, and instead moved to a new vote for U.S. senator. Stephenson fell short in that vote, and the stalemate dragged out for more than a month as various factions attempted to coalesce around an alternative. March 4, 1909âthe scheduled start of the next U.S. Senate termâwas the effective deadline for the Legislature to act, as Stephenson already planned to assert his right to be seated as U.S. senator based on the initial January 26 votes. With the Legislature unable to reach a majority for any alternative candidate, Stephenson was ultimately re-elected by a bare majority on March 4, with more than 40 members casting protest votes for random colleagues and neighbors.
Democratic primary
On the ballot
- Neal Brown, prominent lawyer and former state legislator from Wausau, Wisconsin.
- Melvin A. Hoyt, editor of the Milwaukee Daily News.
Primary result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Neal Brown | 24,944 | 66.71% | |
| Democratic | Melvin A. Hoyt | 12,228 | 32.70% | |
| Scattering | 218 | 0.58% | ||
| Plurality | 12,716 | 34.01% | ||
| Total votes | 37,390 | 100.0% | ||
Republican primary
On the ballot
- Samuel A. Cook, former U.S. representative and prominent state leader in the Grand Army of the Republic from Neenah, Wisconsin.
- William H. Hatten, lumber millionaire and former state senator from Outagamie County, Wisconsin.
- Francis E. McGovern, incumbent district attorney of Milwaukee County.
- Isaac Stephenson, incumbent U.S. senator, former U.S. representative of Wisconsin's 9th congressional district, from Marinette, Wisconsin.
Primary result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Isaac Stephenson (incumbent) | 56,839 | 31.04% | |
| Republican | Samuel A. Cook | 47,944 | 26.19% | |
| Republican | Francis E. McGovern | 42,631 | 23.28% | |
| Republican | William H. Hatten | 35,621 | 19.46% | |
| Scattering | 54 | 0.58% | ||
| Plurality | 8,895 | 4.86% | ||
| Total votes | 183,089 | 100.0% | ||
Other candidates with significant caucus support
- Henry Allen Cooper, incumbent U.S. representative of Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, from Racine County.
- John J. Esch, incumbent U.S. representative of Wisconsin's 7th congressional district, from La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Socialist primary
On the ballot
- Jacob Rummel, former state senator from Milwaukee.
Primary result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socialist | Jacob Rummel | 4,047 | 99.19% | |
| Scattering | 33 | 0.81% | ||
| Total votes | 4,080 | 100.0% | ||
Prohibition primary
On the ballot
- Isaac Stephenson, incumbent U.S. senator, former U.S. representative of Wisconsin's 9th congressional district, from Marinette, Wisconsin.
Primary result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Isaac Stephenson (incumbent) | 79 | 24.01% | |
| Scattering | 250 | 75.99% | ||
| Total votes | 329 | 100.0% | ||
Election
Events of January 27, 1909
Pursuant to federal law, each chamber of the legislature voted separately on their choice for U.S. senator on January 26, prior to meeting in joint session on January 27 to conduct the election. The law stipulated that if a candidate received a majority of those initial votesâas Stephenson did in this caseâhe "shall be declared duly elected senator." The record of those votes was not initially admitted in the joint session, but a motion by state senator George Hudnall read those results into the record and called for the president of the joint session to declare that Stephenson had been elected. The president of the joint session, Lieutenant Governor John Strange, ignored Hudnall's motion and instead proceeded to a new vote in the joint session. Stephenson failed to reach a majority in the formal vote of the joint session.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Isaac Stephenson (incumbent) | 72 | 71.29% | ||
| Democratic | Neal Brown | 20 | 19.80% | ||
| Socialist | Jacob Rummel | 4 | 3.96% | ||
| Republican | Samuel A. Cook | 2 | 1.98% | ||
| Republican | Henry Allen Cooper | 1 | 0.99% | ||
| Republican | John J. Esch | 1 | 0.99% | ||
| Republican | James Huff Stout | 1 | 0.99% | ||
| Null vote | 32 | ||||
| Absent | 1 | ||||
| Majority | 51 | 50.50% | |||
| Total votes | 101 | 75.94% | |||
| Void election result | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Isaac Stephenson (incumbent) | 65 | 49.62% |  7 | |
| Democratic | Neal Brown | 21 | 16.03% |  1 | |
| Republican | Henry Allen Cooper | 11 | 8.40% | 10 | |
| Republican | John J. Esch | 7 | 5.34% | 6 | |
| Republican | Samuel A. Cook | 4 | 3.05% | 2 | |
| Socialist | Jacob Rummel | 4 | 3.05% |  | |
| Republican | Walter C. Owen | 3 | 2.29% | ||
| Republican | James H. Davidson | 2 | 1.53% | ||
| Republican | William D. Hoard | 2 | 1.53% | ||
| Republican | James Huff Stout | 2 | 1.53% | 1 | |
| Republican | Levi H. Bancroft | 1 | 0.76% | ||
| Republican | M. J. Cleary | 1 | 0.76% | ||
| Republican | John S. Donald | 1 | 0.76% | ||
| Republican | E. A. Edmunds | 1 | 0.76% | ||
| Republican | Charles E. Estabrook | 1 | 0.76% | ||
| Republican | Irvine Lenroot | 1 | 0.76% | ||
| Republican | Henry Lockney | 1 | 0.76% | ||
| Republican | Francis E. McGovern | 1 | 0.76% | ||
| Republican | John Strange | 1 | 0.76% | ||
| Republican | Charles M. Webb | 1 | 0.76% | ||
| Absent or not voting | 2 | ||||
| Majority | 66 | 50.38% | |||
| Total votes | 131 | 98.50% | 30 | ||
| Void election result | |||||
Vote on March 4, 1909
The legislature re-convened in joint session on March 4.[1]
Notes
- On the final ballot, Esch received the votes of Republican senators John J. Blaine, Theodore W. Brazeau, and Spencer M. Marsh, and Republican representatives Charles M. Bradford, George E. Hoyt, H. J. Mortensen, and Simon F. Wehrwein.
- On the final ballot, Cooper received the votes of Republican senators Isaac T. Bishop and Harry C. Martin and Republican representatives Walker M. Curtiss, John H. Kamper, and Allen Wells.
- On the final ballot, Rummel received the votes of all the Socialists.
- On the final ballot, Democratic representatives George W. Kindlin and Henry V. Schwalbach voted for Kalaher.
- On the final ballot, Republican representatives D. C. Coolidge and John E. McConnell voted for Sanborn.
- On the final ballot, Democratic representative Paul O. Husting voted for Bichler.
- On the final ballot, Republican representative Peter F. Leuch voted for Gustav R. Hoffman.
- On the final ballot, Democratic representative William J. Bichler voted for Melvin Hoyt.
- On the final ballot, Democratic representative Charles Lentz voted for Hughes.
- On the final ballot, Democratic senator Charles L. Pearson voted for Husting.
- On the final ballot, Democratic representative Virgil H. Cady voted for D. M. Kelly.
- On the final ballot, Republican representative Clinton B. Ballard voted for Kull.
- On the final ballot, Republican representative Axel Johnson voted for Lenroot.
- On the final ballot, Republican senator Walter C. Owen voted for Lockney.
- On the final ballot, Republican senator Thomas Morris voted for John McConnell.
- On the final ballot, Republican representative Henry Edgar Roethe voted for McGovern.
- On the final ballot, Republican representative Albert W. Sanborn voted for Morse.
- On the final ballot, Republican representative James R. Barnett voted for Neitzel.
- On the final ballot, Republican senator Henry Lockney voted for Walter Owen.
- On the final ballot, Republican representative Carl H. Dorner voted for C. K. Reichert.