1938 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

1938 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
← 1936 November 8, 1938 1940 →
 
Nominee Julius P. Heil Philip La Follette Harry W. Bolens
Party Republican Progressive Democratic
Popular vote 543,675 353,381 78,446
Percentage 55.39% 36.00% 7.99%
County results
Heil:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
La Follette:      40–50%      50–60%
Governor before election

Philip La Follette
Progressive

Elected Governor

Julius P. Heil
Republican

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The 1938 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1938. Primary elections were held on September 20, 1938. Incumbent Progressive Governor Philip La Follette was defeated by Republican nominee Julius P. Heil.

Background

The 1937 special session

Despite having a high initial popularity, La Follette's reputation had begun to deteriorate as his governorship ran its course. This all culminated in the disastrous 1937 special session, where La Follette attempted to force through a bill without public debate, and without the normal machinery of the legislative process. The bill, decried by critics as dictatorial, would have, among other things, fundamentally altered the system of checks and balances in Wisconsin by making it so that legislation would be written up by the executive and handed to the legislature to either approve or reject. Alongside this, the session passed through legislation reorganizing the state executive branch to remove redundant agencies to improve efficiency. This had been one of the final blows for the establishment, who had begun to talk of electoral fusion to defeat La Follette.

Coalition talks

At Oshkosh, a committee was established by members of the Democratic, Republican, Union, and Progressive parties in the hope of defeating La Follette. In their goals they aligned with Robert Kirkland Henry, the former Democratic state treasurer, in that goal. Despite the bipartisan nature of this committee, it was still done in opposition to the leadership of both parties. Due to the nature of the primary system in Wisconsin, one candidate could not officially run under multiple party lines, so instead, the candidate would be required to give up one party to run under another, to the coalition hopefuls, that meant the party their candidate got the least votes in.[1]

Henry stood for both the Democratic and Republican nominations as part of a coalition movement designed to defeat Philip La Follette and the Progressive Party. If he had won both nominations, he intended to decline the nomination of the party in whose primary he received fewest votes.[1][2]

Primary election

Progressive party

Candidates

Results

Progressive primary results[3][4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Progressive Philip La Follette (incumbent) 136,291 80.21%
Progressive Glenn P. Turner 33,631 19.79%
Total votes 169,922 100.00%

Republican party

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results[3][8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Julius P. Heil 126,820 55.83%
Republican Robert Kirkland Henry 73,348 32.29%
Republican James G. Peterson 20,262 8.92%
Republican Clun L. Miller 6,729 2.96%
Total votes 227,159 100.00%

Democratic party

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[3][9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Robert Kirkland Henry 64,363 51.15%
Democratic Jerome F. Fox 50,497 40.13%
Democratic Edward Ihlenfeldt 10,984 6.73%
Total votes 125,844 100.00%

Aftermath

Henry won the Democratic nomination but lost the Republican nomination to Julius P. Heil. On October 1, 1938, Henry withdrew from the election in favour of Heil.[10] On October 7, 1938, the Democratic state central committee met and nominated State Senator Harry W. Bolens, another proponent of a coalition, to replace Henry on the Democratic ticket.[11][12]

Union party

Candidates

  • Frank W. Smith

Results

Union primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Union Frank W. Smith 2,553 100.00%
Total votes 2,553 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Major party candidates

Other candidates

  • John Schleier, Jr., Independent Socialist Labor
  • Frank W. Smith, Union

Results

1938 Wisconsin gubernatorial election[13][14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Julius P. Heil 543,675 55.39% +25.97%
Progressive Philip La Follette (incumbent) 353,381 36.00% −10.37%
Democratic Harry W. Bolens 78,446 7.99% −13.71%
Union Frank W. Smith 4,564 0.47% −1.79%
Socialist Labor[a] John Schleier, Jr. 1,459 0.15% +0.01%
Scattering[b] 35 0.00%
Majority 190,294 19.39%
Total votes 981,560 100.00%
Republican gain from Progressive Swing +36.34%

Results by county

Iron County voted for the losing candidate for the first time in this election. Adams County, Burnett County, Jackson County, and Washburn County all voted for the losing candidate for the first time since 1892.

County[13][14] Julius P. Heil
Republican 		Philip La Follette
Progressive 		Harry W. Bolens
Democratic 		All Others
Various 		Margin[c] Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Adams 1,180 44.13% 1,379 51.57% 104 3.89% 11 0.41% -199 -7.44% 2,674
Ashland 3,100 43.50% 3,447 48.37% 538 7.55% 42 0.59% -347 -4.87% 7,127
Barron 5,329 56.28% 3,733 39.43% 356 3.76% 50 0.53% 1,596 16.86% 9,468
Bayfield 2,197 37.83% 3,363 57.90% 227 3.91% 21 0.36% -1,166 -20.08% 5,808
Brown 11,290 51.39% 6,735 30.66% 3,819 17.38% 124 0.56% 4,555 20.73% 21,968
Buffalo 2,231 48.65% 2,225 48.52% 117 2.55% 13 0.28% 6 0.13% 4,586
Burnett 1,417 39.46% 1,964 54.69% 176 4.90% 34 0.95% -547 -15.23% 3,591
Calumet 4,154 64.17% 1,679 25.94% 624 9.64% 16 0.25% 2,475 38.24% 6,473
Chippewa 7,733 63.59% 3,943 32.42% 457 3.76% 28 0.23% 3,790 31.17% 12,161
Clark 3,469 64.34% 2,907 28.91% 600 5.97% 79 0.79% 3,562 35.43% 10,055
Columbia 6,358 57.00% 4,176 37.44% 601 5.39% 20 0.18% 2,182 19.56% 11,155
Crawford 3,558 56.31% 1,610 25.48% 1,026 16.24% 125 1.98% 1,948 30.83% 6,319
Dane 18,279 47.48% 18,508 48.08% 1,611 4.18% 98 0.25% -229 -0.59% 38,496
Dodge 11,432 64.75% 4,444 25.17% 1,729 9.79% 51 0.29% 6,988 39.58% 17,656
Door 3,318 68.02% 1,266 25.95% 251 5.15% 43 0.88% 2,052 42.07% 4,878
Douglas 8,422 42.93% 9,508 48.47% 1,515 7.72% 173 0.88% -1,086 -5.54% 19,618
Dunn 4,934 60.97% 2,947 36.41% 196 2.42% 16 0.20% 1,987 24.55% 8,093
Eau Claire 7,117 53.57% 5,599 42.14% 532 4.00% 38 0.29% 1,518 11.43% 13,286
Florence 760 40.69% 977 52.30% 111 5.94% 20 1.07% -217 -11.62% 1,868
Fond du Lac 12,255 61.76% 4,896 24.67% 2,544 12.82% 148 0.75% 7,359 37.09% 19,843
Forest 1,687 42.09% 1,798 44.86% 495 12.35% 28 0.70% -111 -2.77% 4,008
Grant 7,357 59.55% 3,983 32.24% 960 7.77% 54 0.44% 3,374 27.31% 12,354
Green 4,270 55.07% 2,984 38.48% 251 3.24% 249 3.21% 1,286 16.58% 7,754
Green Lake 3,657 67.13% 1,147 21.05% 624 11.45% 20 0.37% 2,510 46.07% 5,448
Iowa 3,479 58.46% 2,048 34.41% 407 6.84% 17 0.29% 1,431 24.05% 5,951
Iron 1,774 38.67% 2,628 57.28% 175 3.81% 11 0.24% -854 -18.61% 4,588
Jackson 2,267 47.26% 2,274 47.40% 240 5.00% 16 0.33% -7 -0.15% 4,797
Jefferson 8,324 64.07% 3,385 26.05% 1,244 9.58% 39 0.30% 4,939 38.02% 12,992
Juneau 3,800 55.50% 2,588 37.80% 446 6.51% 13 0.19% 1,212 17.70% 6,847
Kenosha 10,853 47.24% 10,182 44.32% 1,830 7.97% 108 0.47% 671 2.92% 22,973
Kewaunee 3,972 66.01% 1,276 21.21% 736 12.23% 33 0.55% 2,696 44.81% 6,017
La Crosse 10,946 59.19% 6,624 35.82% 892 4.82% 32 0.17% 4,322 23.37% 18,494
Lafayette 3,948 52.17% 2,548 33.67% 1,059 13.99% 12 0.16% 1,400 18.50% 7,567
Langlade 3,833 46.55% 3,091 37.53% 1,265 15.36% 46 0.56% 742 9.01% 8,235
Lincoln 4,356 54.15% 3,309 41.13% 337 4.19% 43 0.53% 1,047 13.01% 8,045
Manitowoc 10,391 52.76% 6,997 35.53% 1,955 9.93% 350 1.78% 3,394 17.23% 19,693
Marathon 12,310 57.85% 7,198 33.83% 1,643 7.72% 127 0.60% 5,112 24.02% 21,278
Marinette 6,370 56.78% 3,657 32.60% 1,149 10.24% 42 0.37% 2,713 24.18% 11,218
Marquette 2,355 70.15% 733 21.83% 262 7.80% 7 0.21% 1,622 48.32% 3,357
Milwaukee 118,617 51.94% 87,916 38.50% 20,272 8.88% 1,575 0.69% 30,701 13.44% 228,380
Monroe 5,529 59.07% 3,478 37.16% 333 3.56% 20 0.21% 2,051 21.91% 9,360
Oconto 4,800 52.67% 3,169 34.77% 1,087 11.93% 58 0.64% 1,631 17.90% 9,114
Oneida 3,303 47.13% 3,261 46.53% 400 5.71% 45 0.64% 42 0.60% 7,009
Outagamie 12,365 63.40% 4,658 23.88% 2,031 10.41% 450 2.31% 7,707 39.51% 19,504
Ozaukee 4,143 63.52% 1,464 22.45% 884 13.55% 31 0.48% 2,679 41.08% 6,522
Pepin 1,494 59.52% 869 34.62% 145 5.78% 2 0.08% 625 24.90% 2,510
Pierce 3,249 51.38% 2,770 43.80% 229 3.62% 76 1.20% 479 7.57% 6,324
Polk 3,323 44.59% 3,876 52.01% 217 2.91% 37 0.50% -553 -7.42% 7,453
Portage 5,243 46.06% 4,068 35.73% 2,024 17.78% 49 0.43% 1,175 10.32% 11,384
Price 3,427 52.30% 2,664 40.65% 423 6.46% 39 0.60% 763 11.64% 6,553
Racine 16,764 52.01% 12,850 39.86% 2,516 7.81% 105 0.33% 3,914 12.14% 32,235
Richland 4,250 73.01% 1,276 21.92% 283 4.86% 12 0.21% 2,974 51.09% 5,821
Rock 15,612 59.68% 9,051 34.60% 1,454 5.56% 41 0.16% 6,561 25.08% 26,158
Rusk 3,011 56.31% 1,997 37.35% 314 5.87% 25 0.47% 1,014 18.96% 5,347
Sauk 6,654 58.71% 4,227 37.29% 434 3.83% 19 0.17% 2,427 21.41% 11,334
Sawyer 2,131 52.72% 1,465 36.24% 439 10.86% 7 0.17% 666 16.48% 4,042
Shawano 5,518 58.29% 3,422 36.15% 489 5.17% 37 0.39% 2,096 22.14% 9,466
Sheboygan 14,616 66.31% 3,705 16.81% 3,418 15.51% 304 1.38% 10,911 49.50% 22,043
St. Croix 3,836 47.06% 3,543 43.47% 699 8.58% 73 0.90% 293 3.59% 8,151
Taylor 2,762 45.56% 2,792 46.06% 454 7.49% 54 0.89% -30 -0.49% 6,062
Trempealeau 3,502 48.87% 3,168 44.21% 479 6.68% 17 0.24% 334 4.66% 7,166
Vernon 5,327 60.34% 3,234 36.63% 249 2.82% 19 0.22% 2,093 23.71% 8,829
Vilas 2,047 52.33% 1,548 39.57% 306 7.82% 11 0.28% 499 12.76% 3,912
Walworth 8,211 74.66% 2,203 20.03% 563 5.12% 21 0.19% 6,008 45.63% 10,998
Washburn 1,880 45.45% 2,081 50.31% 160 3.87% 15 0.36% -201 -4.86% 4,136
Washington 7,594 70.38% 2,356 21.84% 793 7.35% 47 0.44% 5,238 48.54% 10,790
Waukesha 15,363 71.55% 5,198 24.21% 861 4.01% 49 0.23% 10,165 47.34% 21,471
Waupaca 7,502 64.41% 3,720 31.94% 385 3.31% 40 0.34% 3,782 32.47% 11,647
Waushara 3,592 69.06% 1,449 27.86% 150 2.88% 10 0.19% 2,143 41.20% 5,201
Winnebago 14,020 60.40% 6,845 29.49% 2,083 8.97% 264 1.14% 7,175 30.91% 23,212
Wood 6,508 51.30% 5,302 41.79% 768 6.05% 109 0.86% 1,206 9.51% 12,687
Total 543,675 55.39% 353,381 36.00% 78,446 7.99% 6,058 0.62% 190,294 19.39% 981,560

Counties that flipped from Progressive to Republican

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Notes

  1. ^ "Independent Socialist Labor"
  2. ^ These are not listed in the Blue Book but are listed in the Board of Canvassers report.
  3. ^ All margins are Heil over La Follette

References

  1. ^ a b "Oshkosh men are active at session of coalitionists". The Oshkosh Northwestern. Oshkosh, Wisconsin. November 22, 1937. p. 5. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Primaries: Wisconsin Obstacle Race". Time. New York City: Time Inc. October 3, 1938. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library (1940). "Primary Vote For Governor By Counties". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1940. Madison, Wisconsin: Democrat Printing Company. p. 536.
  4. ^ "WI Governor, 1938 - PRG Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  5. ^ "Democrats Intend To Replace Henry In November Race". The Post-Crescent. Appleton, Wisconsin. October 3, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  6. ^ "Miller Has Engine". The Oshkosh Northwestern. Oshkosh, Wisconsin. September 3, 1938. p. 7. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  7. ^ "'Beat LaFollette' battle cry rings". Marshfield News-Herald. Marshfield, Wisconsin. September 16, 1938. p. 5. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  8. ^ "WI Governor, 1938 - R Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  9. ^ "WI Governor, 1938 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  10. ^ "Henry Withdraws In Favor Of Heil". La Crosse Tribune And Leader-Press. La Crosse, Wisconsin. October 2, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  11. ^ "Democrats Favor Harry Bolens for Governor Battle". The Post-Crescent. Appleton, Wisconsin. October 4, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  12. ^ "Dem Party Is Reinforced; In Contest Again". The Capital Times. Madison, Wisconsin. October 8, 1938. p. 3. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Wisconsin Historical Society, Statement of Board of State Canvassers - Election of State Officers - November 8, 1938
  14. ^ a b The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library (1940). "Summary Vote For Governor By Counties". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1940. Madison, Wisconsin: Democrat Printing Company. p. 606.

Bibliography