 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
 County results Ludington : 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Taylor : 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The1875 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1875.Republican Party candidateHarrison Ludington was elected with 50% of the vote, narrowly defeating incumbentDemocratic governorWilliam Robert Taylor.
Taylor was once again nominated as the consensus candidate of the "Reform Party,"—a coalition of Democrats,Liberal Republicans, andGrangers. He was opposed by Ludington, who disagreed with the regulations placed on railroads and in turn received the support of railroad companies. The reelection defeat of Taylor prompted the dissolution of the Reform coalition, with the Grangers standing their own candidate under theGreenback Party in the following election.
William Robert Taylor was the incumbentgovernor of Wisconsin, having been elected in the1873 election. Previously, he had served as trustee for the State Hospital of the Insane, the president of the state agriculture society, had been chairman of theCottage Grove town board, and theDane County board of supervisors, and had been a member of theWisconsin State Senate andAssembly.
Harrison Ludington, at the time of the 1875 election, served asMayor of Milwaukee. Previously he had been elected as a Milwaukeealderman for two terms, having been a businessman working in merchandising, lumber and construction until then.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Harrison Ludington | 85,155 | 50.07% | +5.28% | |
| Democratic | William R. Taylor (incumbent) | 84,314 | 49.58% | −5.61% | |
| Prohibition | C. F. Hammond | 460 | 0.27% | ||
| Scattering | 141 | 0.08% | |||
| Majority | 841 | 0.49% | |||
| Total votes | 170,070 | 100.00% | |||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | Swing | +10.89% | |||
Oconto County voted for the losing candidate for the first time since1859; this would not occur again until1958.Kenosha County also voted for the losing candidate for the first time since1853 and would not do so again until1910.
| County[1][2] | Harrison Ludington Republican | William R. Taylor Democratic | C. F. Hammond Prohibition[3] | Scattering Write-in | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 705 | 66.01% | 362 | 33.90% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.09% | 343 | 32.12% | 1,068 |
| Ashland | 77 | 44.00% | 98 | 56.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -21 | -12.00% | 175 |
| Barron | 501 | 70.86% | 206 | 29.14% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 295 | 41.73% | 707 |
| Bayfield | 75 | 68.18% | 35 | 31.82% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 40 | 36.36% | 110 |
| Brown | 1,716 | 41.83% | 2,385 | 58.14% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.02% | -669 | -16.31% | 4,102 |
| Buffalo | 696 | 45.25% | 841 | 54.68% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.07% | -145 | -9.43% | 1,538 |
| Burnett | 312 | 96.89% | 10 | 3.11% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 302 | 93.79% | 322 |
| Calumet | 449 | 28.29% | 1,137 | 71.64% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.06% | -688 | -43.35% | 1,587 |
| Chippewa | 714 | 40.94% | 1,030 | 59.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -316 | -18.12% | 1,744 |
| Clark | 717 | 57.73% | 525 | 42.27% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 192 | 15.46% | 1,242 |
| Columbia | 2,413 | 59.36% | 1,618 | 39.80% | 31 | 0.76% | 3 | 0.07% | 795 | 19.56% | 4,065 |
| Crawford | 847 | 43.37% | 1,106 | 56.63% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -259 | -13.26% | 1,953 |
| Dane | 4,457 | 47.94% | 4,823 | 51.88% | 0 | 0.00% | 17 | 0.18% | -366 | -3.94% | 9,297 |
| Dodge | 2,503 | 34.78% | 4,685 | 65.10% | 9 | 0.13% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,182 | -30.32% | 7,197 |
| Door | 453 | 55.31% | 366 | 44.69% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 87 | 10.62% | 819 |
| Douglas | 34 | 30.63% | 77 | 69.37% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -43 | -38.74% | 111 |
| Dunn | 1,159 | 57.18% | 867 | 42.77% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.05% | 292 | 14.41% | 2,027 |
| Eau Claire | 1,641 | 60.40% | 1,076 | 39.60% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -565 | -20.79% | 2,717 |
| Fond du Lac | 3,392 | 44.75% | 3,973 | 52.41% | 214 | 2.82% | 1 | 0.01% | -581 | -7.66% | 7,580 |
| Grant | 3,182 | 57.85% | 2,318 | 42.15% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 864 | 15.71% | 5,500 |
| Green | 1,960 | 54.92% | 1,595 | 44.69% | 0 | 0.00% | 14 | 0.39% | 365 | 10.23% | 3,569 |
| Green Lake | 1,127 | 57.24% | 795 | 40.38% | 47 | 2.39% | 0 | 0.00% | 332 | 16.86% | 1,969 |
| Iowa | 1,593 | 48.88% | 1,665 | 51.09% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.03% | -72 | -2.21% | 3,259 |
| Jackson | 992 | 65.61% | 491 | 32.47% | 29 | 1.92% | 0 | 0.00% | 501 | 33.13% | 1,512 |
| Jefferson | 2,300 | 43.91% | 2,938 | 56.09% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -638 | -12.18% | 5,238 |
| Juneau | 1,306 | 57.41% | 968 | 42.55% | 1 | 0.04% | 0 | 0.00% | 338 | 14.86% | 2,275 |
| Kenosha | 1,086 | 48.99% | 1,131 | 51.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -45 | -2.03% | 2,217 |
| Kewaunee | 226 | 18.57% | 991 | 81.43% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -765 | -62.86% | 1,217 |
| La Crosse | 1,872 | 51.84% | 1,739 | 48.16% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 133 | 3.68% | 3,611 |
| Lafayette | 1,673 | 50.45% | 1,642 | 49.52% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.03% | 31 | 0.93% | 3,316 |
| Lincoln | 49 | 41.88% | 68 | 58.12% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -19 | -16.24% | 117 |
| Manitowoc | 1,406 | 34.92% | 2,620 | 65.08% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,214 | -30.15% | 4,026 |
| Marathon | 365 | 27.20% | 977 | 72.80% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -612 | -45.60% | 1,342 |
| Marquette | 463 | 39.27% | 716 | 60.73% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -253 | -21.46% | 1,179 |
| Milwaukee | 6,042 | 44.90% | 7,415 | 55.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,373 | -10.20% | 13,457 |
| Monroe | 1,557 | 55.77% | 1,235 | 44.23% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 322 | 11.53% | 2,792 |
| Oconto | 873 | 44.38% | 1,092 | 55.52% | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 0.10% | -219 | -11.13% | 1,967 |
| Outagamie | 1,198 | 32.25% | 2,517 | 67.75% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,319 | -35.50% | 3,715 |
| Ozaukee | 460 | 21.75% | 1,652 | 78.11% | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | 0.14% | -1,192 | -56.36% | 2,115 |
| Pepin | 452 | 62.52% | 270 | 37.34% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.14% | 182 | 25.17% | 723 |
| Pierce | 1,065 | 57.35% | 791 | 42.60% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.05% | 274 | 14.75% | 1,857 |
| Polk | 817 | 73.21% | 299 | 26.79% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 518 | 46.42% | 1,116 |
| Portage | 1,265 | 60.73% | 818 | 39.27% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 447 | 21.46% | 2,083 |
| Racine | 1,955 | 49.05% | 2,031 | 50.95% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -76 | -1.91% | 3,986 |
| Richland | 1,522 | 57.33% | 1,132 | 42.64% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.04% | 390 | 14.69% | 2,655 |
| Rock | 3,734 | 68.25% | 1,718 | 31.40% | 18 | 0.33% | 1 | 0.02% | 2,016 | 36.85% | 5,471 |
| Sauk | 2,242 | 63.08% | 1,310 | 36.86% | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 0.06% | 932 | 26.22% | 3,554 |
| Shawano | 271 | 37.17% | 448 | 61.45% | 0 | 0.00% | 10 | 1.37% | -177 | -24.28% | 729 |
| Sheboygan | 1,723 | 43.75% | 2,215 | 56.25% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -492 | -12.49% | 3,938 |
| St. Croix | 1,185 | 42.83% | 1,582 | 57.17% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -397 | -14.35% | 2,767 |
| Taylor | 90 | 49.18% | 93 | 50.82% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -3 | -1.64% | 183 |
| Trempealeau | 1,077 | 64.49% | 520 | 31.14% | 0 | 0.00% | 73 | 4.37% | 557 | 33.35% | 1,670 |
| Vernon | 1,784 | 71.94% | 696 | 28.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,088 | 43.87% | 2,480 |
| Walworth | 2,825 | 68.89% | 1,272 | 31.02% | 3 | 0.07% | 1 | 0.02% | 1,553 | 37.87% | 4,101 |
| Washington | 723 | 23.85% | 2,305 | 76.02% | 0 | 0.00% | 4 | 0.13% | -1,582 | -52.18% | 3,032 |
| Waukesha | 2,533 | 50.72% | 2,461 | 49.28% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 72 | 1.44% | 4,994 |
| Waupaca | 1,869 | 61.08% | 1,191 | 38.92% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 678 | 22.16% | 3,060 |
| Waushara | 1,379 | 81.45% | 313 | 18.49% | 1 | 0.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,066 | 62.97% | 1,693 |
| Winnebago | 3,634 | 57.39% | 2,591 | 40.92% | 107 | 1.69% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,043 | 16.47% | 6,332 |
| Wood | 419 | 46.97% | 473 | 53.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -54 | -6.05% | 892 |
| Total | 85,155 | 50.07% | 84,314 | 49.58% | 460 | 0.27% | 141 | 0.08% | 841 | 0.49% | 170,070 |
