Lucius Fairchild was the incumbent governor of Wisconsin, having been elected in the 1865 election. 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.
Democratic party
John J. Tallmadge was a businessman and the former mayor of Milwaukee, having left office less than a year before the 1867 election. Prior to his two terms as mayor, he was one of the founders of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce and served as its president in 1863 and 1864.
^Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, Wisconsin Legislature (2015). Wisconsin Blue Book 2015–2016. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Administration. pp. 699–701. ISBN978-0-9752820-7-6.
^ abWisconsin Historical Society, Tabular Statement of the Votes polled for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Attorney General, State Superintendent, Bank Comptroller, and State Prison Commissioner, and on the question of the proposed Amendment to the Constitution and to the General Banking Law, of the State of Wisconsin, at a General Election held in the several Towns, Wards and Election Precincts in the several counties in said state, on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday, being the fifth day of November 1867