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 County results Schmedeman: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Kohler: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The1932 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1932. IncumbentRepublicanGovernorPhilip La Follette was defeated in the Republican primary, and in the midst of theGreat Depression and nationwide voter dissatisfaction with the Republican Party,Democratic nomineeAlbert G. Schmedeman defeatedRepublican nomineeWalter J. Kohler Sr. andSocialist nomineeFrank Metcalfe with 52.48% of the vote. Schmedeman became the first Democrat to win a gubernatorial election in Wisconsin sinceGeorge Wilbur Peck in1892. Two years later, in1934, La Follette would run for governor again and defeated Schmedeman, this time running with the Progressive Party.
This was the only Democratic victory in a Wisconsin gubernatorial election between1892 and1958. As of 2022, this is the most recent gubernatorial election in whichJuneau,Shawano, andWaupaca have voted for a Democratic candidate.
Primary elections were held on September 20, 1932.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Walter J. Kohler Sr. | 414,575 | 56.45% | |
| Republican | Philip La Follette (incumbent) | 319,884 | 43.55% | |
| Total votes | 734,459 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Albert G. Schmedeman | 58,098 | 44.04% | |
| Democratic | William B. Rubin | 44,556 | 33.77% | |
| Democratic | Leo P. Fox | 29,276 | 22.19% | |
| Total votes | 131,930 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socialist | Frank Metcalfe | 31,836 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 31,836 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prohibition | William C. Dean | 717 | 53.79% | |
| Prohibition | Adolph R. Bucknam | 616 | 46.21% | |
| Total votes | 1,333 | 100.00% | ||
Major party candidates
Other candidates
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Albert G. Schmedeman | 590,114 | 52.48% | +24.46% | |
| Republican | Walter J. Kohler Sr. | 470,805 | 41.87% | −22.89% | |
| Socialist | Frank Metcalfe | 56,965 | 5.07% | +0.85% | |
| Prohibition | William C. Dean | 3,148 | 0.28% | −2.16% | |
| Communist[a] | Fred Basset Blair | 2,926 | 0.26% | −0.23% | |
| Socialist Labor[b] | Joseph Ehrhardt | 398 | 0.04% | ||
| Scattering[c] | 146 | 0.01% | |||
| Majority | 119,309 | 10.61% | |||
| Turnout | 1,124,502 | 100.00% | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | Swing | +47.35% | |||
Schmedeman's victory ended many long streaks of Republican victories in counties throughout the state. In particular, Schmedeman was the first Democrat to ever winBarron County,Burnett County,Grant County,Iron County,Rusk County, andTrempealeau County. He was also the first Democrat sinceWilliam A. Barstow in1853 to winAdams County andVernon County along with the first since Barstow in1855 to winWaupaca County. Additionally,Clark County,Jackson County, andLafayette County voted Democratic for the first time since1873. This election sawMarinette County back the losing the candidate for the first time ever.
Columbia County,Grant County,Green County,Iowa County,Lafayette County, andSauk County would not vote Democratic again until2002, nor wouldMonroe County until2006.
| County[6][7] | Albert G. Schmedeman Democratic | Walter J. Kohler Sr. Republican | Frank Metcalfe Socialist | All Others Various | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 1,601 | 55.96% | 1,211 | 42.33% | 26 | 0.91% | 23 | 0.80% | 390 | 13.63% | 2,861 |
| Ashland | 5,044 | 58.88% | 3,342 | 39.01% | 83 | 0.97% | 97 | 1.13% | 1,702 | 19.87% | 8,566 |
| Barron | 6,858 | 58.79% | 4,536 | 38.88% | 147 | 1.26% | 125 | 1.07% | 2,322 | 19.90% | 11,666 |
| Bayfield | 2,600 | 48.84% | 2,478 | 46.55% | 114 | 2.14% | 131 | 2.46% | 122 | 2.29% | 5,323 |
| Brown | 15,206 | 54.91% | 12,046 | 43.50% | 367 | 1.33% | 76 | 0.27% | 3,160 | 11.41% | 27,695 |
| Buffalo | 2,827 | 57.17% | 2,079 | 42.04% | 16 | 0.32% | 23 | 0.47% | 748 | 15.13% | 4,945 |
| Burnett | 2,127 | 57.02% | 1,496 | 40.11% | 53 | 1.42% | 54 | 1.45% | 631 | 16.92% | 3,730 |
| Calumet | 4,992 | 71.76% | 1,879 | 27.01% | 61 | 0.88% | 25 | 0.36% | 3,113 | 44.75% | 6,957 |
| Chippewa | 7,383 | 54.27% | 6,084 | 44.73% | 81 | 0.60% | 55 | 0.40% | 1,299 | 9.55% | 13,603 |
| Clark | 7,279 | 61.05% | 4,251 | 35.65% | 230 | 1.93% | 163 | 1.37% | 3,028 | 25.40% | 11,923 |
| Columbia | 7,873 | 56.91% | 5,861 | 42.36% | 54 | 0.39% | 47 | 0.34% | 2,012 | 14.54% | 13,835 |
| Crawford | 4,333 | 64.61% | 2,325 | 34.67% | 14 | 0.21% | 34 | 0.51% | 2,008 | 29.94% | 6,706 |
| Dane | 24,536 | 51.33% | 22,280 | 46.61% | 831 | 1.74% | 155 | 0.32% | 2,256 | 4.72% | 47,802 |
| Dodge | 14,333 | 66.84% | 6,846 | 31.93% | 214 | 1.00% | 50 | 0.23% | 7,487 | 34.92% | 21,443 |
| Door | 3,009 | 45.65% | 3,493 | 52.99% | 37 | 0.56% | 53 | 0.80% | -484 | -7.34% | 6,592 |
| Douglas | 8,341 | 44.94% | 9,452 | 50.92% | 510 | 2.75% | 259 | 1.40% | -1,111 | -5.99% | 18,562 |
| Dunn | 4,203 | 47.42% | 4,522 | 51.02% | 81 | 0.91% | 57 | 0.64% | -319 | -3.60% | 8,863 |
| Eau Claire | 6,359 | 41.48% | 8,810 | 57.46% | 86 | 0.56% | 77 | 0.50% | -2,451 | -15.99% | 15,332 |
| Florence | 789 | 46.44% | 849 | 49.97% | 38 | 2.24% | 23 | 1.35% | -60 | -3.53% | 1,699 |
| Fond du Lac | 13,935 | 54.90% | 11,127 | 43.84% | 214 | 0.84% | 105 | 0.41% | 2,808 | 11.06% | 25,381 |
| Forest | 2,243 | 66.28% | 1,096 | 32.39% | 22 | 0.65% | 23 | 0.68% | 1,147 | 33.89% | 3,384 |
| Grant | 8,656 | 54.19% | 7,168 | 44.88% | 59 | 0.37% | 89 | 0.56% | 1,488 | 9.32% | 15,972 |
| Green | 4,862 | 55.21% | 3,824 | 43.42% | 62 | 0.70% | 58 | 0.66% | 1,038 | 11.79% | 8,806 |
| Green Lake | 3,782 | 55.78% | 2,948 | 43.48% | 29 | 0.43% | 21 | 0.31% | 834 | 12.30% | 6,780 |
| Iowa | 4,520 | 55.69% | 3,523 | 43.41% | 20 | 0.25% | 53 | 0.65% | 997 | 12.28% | 8,116 |
| Iron | 1,554 | 46.58% | 1,550 | 46.46% | 59 | 1.77% | 173 | 5.19% | 4 | 0.12% | 3,336 |
| Jackson | 3,282 | 56.61% | 2,405 | 41.48% | 55 | 0.95% | 56 | 0.97% | 877 | 15.13% | 5,798 |
| Jefferson | 10,283 | 61.15% | 6,437 | 38.28% | 77 | 0.46% | 20 | 0.12% | 3,846 | 22.87% | 16,817 |
| Juneau | 3,722 | 55.97% | 2,824 | 42.47% | 53 | 0.80% | 51 | 0.77% | 898 | 13.50% | 6,650 |
| Kenosha | 11,526 | 48.12% | 10,305 | 43.02% | 1,883 | 7.86% | 240 | 1.00% | 1,221 | 5.10% | 23,954 |
| Kewaunee | 4,278 | 70.43% | 1,762 | 29.01% | 19 | 0.31% | 15 | 0.25% | 2,516 | 41.42% | 6,074 |
| La Crosse | 10,194 | 48.34% | 10,766 | 51.06% | 65 | 0.31% | 61 | 0.29% | -572 | -2.71% | 21,086 |
| Lafayette | 4,677 | 56.22% | 3,593 | 43.19% | 22 | 0.26% | 27 | 0.32% | 1,084 | 13.03% | 8,319 |
| Langlade | 5,256 | 59.06% | 3,498 | 39.30% | 110 | 1.24% | 36 | 0.40% | 1,758 | 19.75% | 8,900 |
| Lincoln | 4,544 | 53.57% | 3,816 | 44.98% | 69 | 0.81% | 54 | 0.64% | 728 | 8.58% | 8,483 |
| Manitowoc | 13,816 | 65.25% | 7,029 | 33.20% | 276 | 1.30% | 52 | 0.25% | 6,787 | 32.05% | 21,173 |
| Marathon | 15,462 | 62.22% | 8,850 | 35.61% | 493 | 1.98% | 47 | 0.19% | 6,612 | 26.61% | 24,852 |
| Marinette | 5,036 | 40.80% | 7,009 | 56.79% | 252 | 2.04% | 46 | 0.37% | -1,973 | -15.98% | 12,343 |
| Marquette | 2,207 | 54.67% | 1,801 | 44.61% | 16 | 0.40% | 13 | 0.32% | 406 | 10.06% | 4,037 |
| Milwaukee | 131,158 | 49.86% | 87,911 | 33.42% | 42,404 | 16.12% | 1,570 | 0.60% | 43,247 | 16.44% | 263,043 |
| Monroe | 6,147 | 60.90% | 3,807 | 37.72% | 55 | 0.54% | 85 | 0.84% | 2,340 | 23.18% | 10,094 |
| Oconto | 5,651 | 57.93% | 4,008 | 41.09% | 57 | 0.58% | 39 | 0.40% | 1,643 | 16.84% | 9,755 |
| Oneida | 3,846 | 56.42% | 2,729 | 40.03% | 213 | 3.12% | 29 | 0.43% | 1,117 | 16.39% | 6,817 |
| Outagamie | 13,353 | 52.33% | 11,866 | 46.50% | 236 | 0.92% | 64 | 0.25% | 1,487 | 5.83% | 25,519 |
| Ozaukee | 5,004 | 69.33% | 2,071 | 28.69% | 132 | 1.83% | 11 | 0.15% | 2,933 | 40.63% | 7,218 |
| Pepin | 1,606 | 52.90% | 1,401 | 46.15% | 17 | 0.56% | 12 | 0.40% | 205 | 6.75% | 3,036 |
| Pierce | 3,650 | 47.35% | 3,717 | 48.22% | 254 | 3.29% | 88 | 1.14% | -67 | -0.87% | 7,709 |
| Polk | 5,142 | 54.85% | 3,999 | 42.66% | 131 | 1.40% | 102 | 1.09% | 1,143 | 12.19% | 9,374 |
| Portage | 7,205 | 55.92% | 5,552 | 43.09% | 85 | 0.66% | 43 | 0.33% | 1,653 | 12.83% | 12,885 |
| Price | 3,620 | 55.74% | 2,606 | 40.13% | 129 | 1.99% | 139 | 2.14% | 1,014 | 15.61% | 6,494 |
| Racine | 15,956 | 47.24% | 15,344 | 45.43% | 2,176 | 6.44% | 299 | 0.89% | 612 | 1.81% | 33,775 |
| Richland | 3,448 | 45.42% | 4,042 | 53.24% | 31 | 0.41% | 71 | 0.94% | -594 | -7.82% | 7,592 |
| Rock | 10,734 | 35.17% | 19,367 | 63.45% | 285 | 0.93% | 136 | 0.45% | -8,633 | -28.28% | 30,522 |
| Rusk | 2,636 | 49.24% | 2,485 | 46.42% | 166 | 3.10% | 66 | 1.23% | 151 | 2.82% | 5,353 |
| Sauk | 7,000 | 54.30% | 5,761 | 44.69% | 50 | 0.39% | 81 | 0.63% | 1,239 | 9.61% | 12,892 |
| Sawyer | 1,952 | 53.61% | 1,599 | 43.92% | 67 | 1.84% | 23 | 0.63% | 353 | 9.70% | 3,641 |
| Shawano | 6,914 | 65.38% | 3,349 | 31.67% | 236 | 2.23% | 76 | 0.72% | 3,565 | 33.71% | 10,575 |
| Sheboygan | 12,419 | 45.89% | 13,661 | 50.48% | 860 | 3.18% | 124 | 0.46% | -1,242 | -4.59% | 27,064 |
| St. Croix | 6,312 | 58.74% | 4,263 | 39.67% | 94 | 0.87% | 77 | 0.72% | 2,049 | 19.07% | 10,746 |
| Taylor | 3,667 | 62.03% | 1,580 | 26.73% | 621 | 10.50% | 44 | 0.74% | 2,087 | 35.30% | 5,912 |
| Trempealeau | 5,286 | 60.78% | 3,302 | 37.97% | 70 | 0.80% | 39 | 0.45% | 1,984 | 22.81% | 8,697 |
| Vernon | 5,365 | 58.93% | 3,638 | 39.96% | 35 | 0.38% | 66 | 0.72% | 1,727 | 18.97% | 9,104 |
| Vilas | 1,351 | 41.40% | 1,783 | 54.64% | 43 | 1.32% | 86 | 2.64% | -432 | -13.24% | 3,263 |
| Walworth | 5,338 | 35.46% | 9,585 | 63.68% | 78 | 0.52% | 52 | 0.35% | -4,247 | -28.21% | 15,053 |
| Washburn | 2,256 | 53.83% | 1,785 | 42.59% | 104 | 2.48% | 46 | 1.10% | 471 | 11.24% | 4,191 |
| Washington | 7,707 | 68.67% | 3,350 | 29.85% | 146 | 1.30% | 21 | 0.19% | 4,357 | 38.82% | 11,224 |
| Waukesha | 10,772 | 47.10% | 11,619 | 50.81% | 423 | 1.85% | 55 | 0.24% | -847 | -3.70% | 22,869 |
| Waupaca | 7,079 | 51.17% | 6,502 | 47.00% | 188 | 1.36% | 66 | 0.48% | 577 | 4.17% | 13,835 |
| Waushara | 2,803 | 48.76% | 2,866 | 49.85% | 35 | 0.61% | 45 | 0.78% | -63 | -1.10% | 5,749 |
| Winnebago | 13,241 | 46.72% | 14,501 | 51.16% | 483 | 1.70% | 117 | 0.41% | -1,260 | -4.45% | 28,342 |
| Wood | 7,968 | 57.76% | 5,585 | 40.49% | 163 | 1.18% | 79 | 0.57% | 2,383 | 17.27% | 13,795 |
| Total | 590,114 | 52.48% | 470,805 | 41.87% | 56,965 | 5.07% | 6,618 | 0.59% | 119,309 | 10.61% | 1,124,502 |
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