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The1863 Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice election was held on Tuesday, April 3, 1863, to elect the chief justice of theWisconsin Supreme Court. Incumbent chief justiceLuther S. Dixon was re-elected.
Incumbent chief justiceLuther S. Dixon had been appointed to the chief justice seat in 1860, and was elected to a partial term that April after winning a narrow victory as anindependent candidate in aspecial election.[1][2][3]
The 1863 election was a regularly scheduled election, and took place during theAmerican Civil War.[4] While serving on the court, Dixon (the incumbent) had involved inthe state's contributions to the Union effort. Dixon was active in the Wisconsin militia as captain of the Madison militia company, the "Hickory Guards". At the outbreak of theAmerican Civil War, he had attempted to enter theUnion Army, but had been dissuaded by Governor Randall who argued that he could do more for the country by staying in his position as chief justice than he could on a battlefield. During the war, Dixon was involved in recruiting and training troops to prepare them for service in the army.[5] At the same time, Dixon had been regarded as a prospective potential candidate for PresidentAbraham Lincoln tonominate forappointment to theUnited States Supreme Court (though he was ultimately not nominated).[5]
The election was tightly contested. Dixon was nominated by theRepublican Party. TheDemocratic Party nominatedMontgomery Morrison Cothren, who ran on ananti-war platform.[4]
Dixon won election, leading Cothren by a margin of more than 2.3%.[6] Cothren had won a majority of votes cast in-person. However, Dixon prevailed due to his lead in theabsentee votes castthrough mail by the state's Union Army soldiers in the field.[6]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General election (April 7, 1863) | |||||
| Republican | Luther S. Dixon (incumbent) | 61,388 | 50.98 | ||
| Democratic | Montgomery Morrison Cothren | 58,587 | 48.65 | ||
| Scattering | 442 | 0.37 | |||
| Plurality | 2,801 | 2.33 | |||
| Total votes | 120,417 | 100. | |||
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