1956 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
County results Thomson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Proxmire: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Wisconsin |
|---|
The 1956 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1956. Republican nominee Vernon W. Thomson defeated Democratic nominee William Proxmire with 51.89% of the vote. Proxmire was defeated for the third consecutive gubernatorial election; he would subsequently win a special election for the United States Senate the following year after the death of Joseph McCarthy.
Primary election
The primary election was held on September 11, 1956. Both major party candidates were unopposed in their respective primaries.
Republican party
Candidates
- Vernon W. Thomson, Attorney General of Wisconsin since 1951.[1]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Vernon W. Thomson | 400,442 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 400,442 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic party
Candidates
- William Proxmire, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly 1951–53 and Democratic nominee for Governor in 1952 and 1954
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William Proxmire | 265,475 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 265,475 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- William Proxmire, Democrat
- Vernon W. Thomson, Republican
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Vernon W. Thomson | 808,273 | 51.89% | +0.43% | |
| Democratic | William Proxmire | 749,421 | 48.11% | −0.29% | |
| Scattering[a] | 94 | 0.01% | |||
| Majority | 58,852 | 3.78% | |||
| Total votes | 1,557,788 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | Swing | +0.72% | |||
Results by county
After this election, Taylor County would not vote Republican again until 1978.
| County[3][4] | Vernon W. Thomson Republican |
William Proxmire Democratic |
Scattering Write-in |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 1,652 | 52.98% | 1,466 | 47.02% | 0 | 0.00% | 186 | 5.97% | 3,118 |
| Ashland | 3,584 | 46.55% | 4,115 | 53.45% | 0 | 0.00% | -531 | -6.90% | 7,699 |
| Barron | 7,584 | 54.38% | 6,362 | 45.62% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,222 | 8.76% | 13,946 |
| Bayfield | 2,730 | 48.38% | 2,913 | 51.62% | 0 | 0.00% | -183 | -3.24% | 5,643 |
| Brown | 26,181 | 56.45% | 20,192 | 43.54% | 2 | 0.00% | 5,989 | 12.91% | 46,375 |
| Buffalo | 3,030 | 55.20% | 2,459 | 44.80% | 0 | 0.00% | 571 | 10.40% | 5,489 |
| Burnett | 2,109 | 51.70% | 1,970 | 48.30% | 0 | 0.00% | 139 | 3.41% | 4,079 |
| Calumet | 5,370 | 64.88% | 2,905 | 35.10% | 2 | 0.02% | 2,465 | 29.78% | 8,277 |
| Chippewa | 8,228 | 49.95% | 8,246 | 50.05% | 0 | 0.00% | -18 | -0.11% | 16,474 |
| Clark | 6,926 | 54.06% | 5,886 | 45.94% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,040 | 8.12% | 12,812 |
| Columbia | 9,265 | 59.74% | 6,243 | 40.26% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,022 | 19.49% | 15,508 |
| Crawford | 3,593 | 53.70% | 3,098 | 46.30% | 0 | 0.00% | 495 | 7.40% | 6,691 |
| Dane | 34,496 | 43.47% | 44,851 | 56.52% | 9 | 0.01% | -10,355 | -13.05% | 79,356 |
| Dodge | 15,244 | 61.23% | 9,652 | 38.77% | 0 | 0.00% | 5,592 | 22.46% | 24,896 |
| Door | 5,929 | 69.50% | 2,602 | 30.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,327 | 39.00% | 8,531 |
| Douglas | 8,283 | 41.16% | 11,841 | 58.84% | 1 | 0.00% | -3,558 | -17.68% | 20,125 |
| Dunn | 5,838 | 55.80% | 4,624 | 44.20% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,214 | 11.60% | 10,462 |
| Eau Claire | 11,631 | 50.32% | 11,485 | 49.68% | 0 | 0.00% | 146 | 0.63% | 23,116 |
| Florence | 841 | 50.06% | 839 | 49.94% | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 0.12% | 1,680 |
| Fond du Lac | 18,424 | 61.19% | 11,685 | 38.81% | 1 | 0.00% | 6,739 | 22.38% | 30,110 |
| Forest | 1,502 | 42.26% | 2,052 | 57.74% | 0 | 0.00% | -550 | -15.48% | 3,554 |
| Grant | 10,929 | 65.72% | 5,699 | 34.27% | 1 | 0.01% | 5,230 | 31.45% | 16,629 |
| Green | 6,090 | 56.97% | 4,599 | 43.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,491 | 13.95% | 10,689 |
| Green Lake | 4,944 | 69.90% | 2,128 | 30.09% | 1 | 0.01% | 2,816 | 39.81% | 7,073 |
| Iowa | 4,762 | 56.99% | 3,594 | 43.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,168 | 13.98% | 8,356 |
| Iron | 1,367 | 34.57% | 2,587 | 65.43% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,220 | -30.85% | 3,954 |
| Jackson | 3,033 | 48.47% | 3,224 | 51.52% | 1 | 0.02% | -191 | -3.05% | 6,258 |
| Jefferson | 11,511 | 57.26% | 8,591 | 42.73% | 1 | 0.00% | 2,920 | 14.53% | 20,103 |
| Juneau | 4,660 | 62.16% | 2,837 | 37.84% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,823 | 24.32% | 7,497 |
| Kenosha | 16,273 | 41.98% | 22,494 | 58.02% | 1 | 0.00% | -6,221 | -16.05% | 38,768 |
| Kewaunee | 4,127 | 55.78% | 3,272 | 44.22% | 0 | 0.00% | 855 | 11.56% | 7,399 |
| La Crosse | 15,498 | 51.79% | 14,427 | 48.21% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,071 | 3.58% | 29,925 |
| Lafayette | 4,381 | 55.10% | 3,570 | 44.90% | 0 | 0.00% | 811 | 10.20% | 7,951 |
| Langlade | 4,261 | 54.64% | 3,537 | 45.36% | 0 | 0.00% | 724 | 9.28% | 7,798 |
| Lincoln | 5,664 | 60.42% | 3,711 | 39.58% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,953 | 20.83% | 9,375 |
| Manitowoc | 14,224 | 48.64% | 15,017 | 51.35% | 1 | 0.00% | -793 | -2.71% | 29,242 |
| Marathon | 17,802 | 46.42% | 20,545 | 53.58% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,743 | -7.15% | 38,347 |
| Marinette | 8,054 | 56.54% | 6,190 | 43.46% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,864 | 13.09% | 14,244 |
| Marquette | 2,528 | 66.65% | 1,264 | 33.32% | 1 | 0.03% | 1,264 | 33.32% | 3,793 |
| Milwaukee | 180,462 | 44.02% | 229,443 | 55.97% | 27 | 0.01% | -48,981 | -11.95% | 409,932 |
| Monroe | 6,712 | 56.99% | 5,065 | 43.00% | 1 | 0.01% | 1,647 | 13.98% | 11,778 |
| Oconto | 6,109 | 58.61% | 4,314 | 41.39% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,795 | 17.22% | 10,423 |
| Oneida | 5,177 | 53.68% | 4,467 | 46.31% | 1 | 0.01% | 710 | 7.36% | 9,645 |
| Outagamie | 23,037 | 66.33% | 11,694 | 33.67% | 0 | 0.00% | 11,343 | 32.66% | 34,731 |
| Ozaukee | 8,066 | 57.90% | 5,864 | 42.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,202 | 15.81% | 13,930 |
| Pepin | 1,689 | 58.54% | 1,196 | 41.46% | 0 | 0.00% | 493 | 17.09% | 2,885 |
| Pierce | 5,343 | 57.78% | 3,904 | 42.22% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,439 | 15.56% | 9,247 |
| Polk | 5,279 | 49.64% | 5,356 | 50.36% | 0 | 0.00% | -77 | -0.72% | 10,635 |
| Portage | 6,357 | 41.42% | 8,991 | 58.58% | 1 | 0.01% | -2,634 | -17.16% | 15,349 |
| Price | 3,430 | 51.37% | 3,247 | 48.63% | 0 | 0.00% | 183 | 2.74% | 6,677 |
| Racine | 25,987 | 46.85% | 29,453 | 53.10% | 26 | 0.05% | -3,466 | -6.25% | 55,466 |
| Richland | 4,747 | 59.72% | 3,200 | 40.26% | 2 | 0.03% | 1,547 | 19.46% | 7,949 |
| Rock | 25,495 | 59.25% | 17,531 | 40.75% | 0 | 0.00% | 7,964 | 18.51% | 43,026 |
| Rusk | 3,112 | 49.19% | 3,215 | 50.81% | 0 | 0.00% | -103 | -1.63% | 6,327 |
| Sauk | 9,715 | 60.12% | 6,443 | 39.87% | 1 | 0.01% | 3,272 | 20.25% | 16,159 |
| Sawyer | 2,474 | 58.09% | 1,785 | 41.91% | 0 | 0.00% | 689 | 16.18% | 4,259 |
| Shawano | 8,698 | 65.95% | 4,489 | 34.04% | 1 | 0.01% | 4,209 | 31.92% | 13,188 |
| Sheboygan | 20,359 | 52.97% | 18,078 | 47.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,281 | 5.93% | 38,437 |
| St. Croix | 6,256 | 51.72% | 5,840 | 48.28% | 0 | 0.00% | 416 | 3.44% | 12,096 |
| Taylor | 3,388 | 51.07% | 3,245 | 48.91% | 1 | 0.02% | 143 | 2.16% | 6,634 |
| Trempealeau | 4,766 | 48.66% | 5,029 | 51.34% | 0 | 0.00% | -263 | -2.69% | 9,795 |
| Vernon | 5,438 | 48.45% | 5,787 | 51.55% | 0 | 0.00% | -349 | -3.11% | 11,225 |
| Vilas | 3,109 | 53.50% | 1,787 | 36.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,322 | 27.00% | 4,896 |
| Walworth | 14,895 | 69.01% | 6,688 | 30.98% | 2 | 0.01% | 8,207 | 38.02% | 21,585 |
| Washburn | 2,573 | 55.14% | 2,093 | 44.86% | 0 | 0.00% | 480 | 10.29% | 4,666 |
| Washington | 10,004 | 60.09% | 6,645 | 39.91% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,359 | 20.18% | 16,649 |
| Waukesha | 29,573 | 57.94% | 21,465 | 42.05% | 6 | 0.01% | 8,108 | 15.88% | 51,044 |
| Waupaca | 11,060 | 73.08% | 4,074 | 26.92% | 0 | 0.00% | 6,986 | 46.16% | 15,134 |
| Waushara | 4,377 | 71.19% | 1,771 | 28.81% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,606 | 42.39% | 6,148 |
| Winnebago | 25,638 | 62.93% | 15,101 | 37.06% | 3 | 0.01% | 10,537 | 25.86% | 40,742 |
| Wood | 12,400 | 56.91% | 9,389 | 43.09% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,011 | 13.82% | 21,789 |
| Total | 808,273 | 51.89% | 749,421 | 48.11% | 94 | 0.01% | 58,852 | 3.78% | 1,557,788 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Notes
- ^ These are not listed in the Blue Book but are listed in the Board of Canvassers report.
References
- ^ "THOMSON, Vernon Wallace 1905–1988". House.gov. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
- ^ a b The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library (1958). "Vote For State Officers, Primary Election". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1958. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 663.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b Wisconsin Historical Society, Statement of Board of State Canvassers for State Officers - General Election - 1956
- ^ a b The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library (1958). "Vote For State Officers By Counties, General Election, November 6, 1956". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1958. Madison, Wisconsin. pp. 769–770.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)