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The1881 United States Senate special election in Wisconsin was held in the34th Wisconsin Legislature betweenMarch 9, 1881, andMarch 10, 1881. The special election was necessary to complete the unexpired term of U.S. SenatorMatthew H. Carpenter, who diedFebruary 24, 1881. Former U.S. SenatorAngus Cameron, who did not seek re-election in 1881 and left office just days before the special election, was elected to succeed Carpenter.[1]
In the 1881 term, Republicans held overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, so had more than enough votes to elect a RepublicanUnited States senator. The main contest was in the Republican legislative caucus, where former U.S. senator Angus Cameron outlasted Wisconsin Republican Party bossElisha W. Keyes, taking the nomination on the 48th ballot.
Within days of the death of U.S. SenatorMatthew H. Carpenter, political endorsements began appearing in Wisconsin newspapers for candidates to succeed him.[2][3]Elisha W. Keyes, one of the most powerful Wisconsin Republicans of the era, made his third bid for the Republican nomination after failing to secure the seat in 1879 and the regular 1881 election. Former senator Angus Cameron had just declined to seek re-election in the regular 1881 election, but after receiving the support by many of Senator Carpenter's former allies, he consented to run for the nomination.[4] Carpenter had significant support from the northern parts of the states. The Milwaukee delegation was divided between Carpenter and former chief justiceLuther S. Dixon.[5]
The Republican legislative caucus convened on March 7, 1881, and proceeded to an informal poll of legislators. Cameron held a slight lead, but was 8 votes short of a majority; Keyes and Dixon trailed behind by about 10 and 20 votes respectively. After five rounds of formal voting, the numbers remained stuck at approximately the same levels. The caucus adjourned until later that evening, when they took 23 more ballots; Cameron's count crept to within six votes of the majority. The caucus reconvened on March 8 and took 16 more ballots, support for Keyes and Dixon faded, and dark horse candidateJoseph V. Quarles briefly rose into 2nd place. Two more ballots were taken on the morning of March 9, showing no progress. The caucus adjourned again, during that break, supporters of Keyes and Dixon and others attempted to rally behind businessman and former legislatorJonathan Bowman. At the March 9 evening session, Cameron and Bowman were nearly tied; Cameron finally reached a majority by one vote on the 48th ballot.[5]
The legislature met in joint session on March 9, 1881, to elect aU.S. senator. This joint session occurred before the Republican caucus reached consensus on their nomination that evening, thus the vote resulted in no majority.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Angus Cameron | 41 | 32.80% | ||
| Democratic | William F. Vilas | 26 | 20.80% | ||
| Republican | Luther S. Dixon | 18 | 14.40% | ||
| Republican | Elisha W. Keyes | 15 | 12.00% | ||
| Republican | Charles G. Williams | 13 | 10.40% | ||
| Republican | George Cochrane Hazelton | 7 | 5.60% | ||
| Republican | Jonathan Bowman | 2 | 1.60% | ||
| Republican | James M. Bingham | 1 | 0.80% | ||
| Republican | Charles L. Colby | 1 | 0.80% | ||
| Republican | Joseph V. Quarles | 1 | 0.80% | ||
| Absent or not voting | 8 | ||||
| Majority | 63 | 50.40% | |||
| Total votes | 125 | 93.98% | |||
| Void election result | |||||
The legislature returned to joint session to vote again on March 10, 1881, with nine members absent. Voting went exactly along party lines, with Cameron receiving the votes of all Republicans in attendance, and winning the election.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Angus Cameron | 97 | 78.23% | ||
| Democratic | William F. Vilas | 27 | 21.77% | ||
| Absent or not voting | 9 | ||||
| Majority | 63 | 50.81% | |||
| Total votes | 124 | 93.23% | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
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