Michael K. Reilly | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byHarris & Ewingc. 1915 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's6th district | |
| In office December 1, 1930 – January 3, 1939 | |
| Preceded by | Florian Lampert |
| Succeeded by | Frank Bateman Keefe |
| In office March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1917 | |
| Preceded by | Michael E. Burke |
| Succeeded by | James H. Davidson |
| District Attorney ofFond du Lac County | |
| In office January 1, 1899 – January 1, 1901 | |
| Preceded by | Herbert E. Swett |
| Succeeded by | Ray L. Morse |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1869-07-15)July 15, 1869 Empire, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | October 14, 1944(1944-10-14) (aged 75) |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery,The Bronx |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Oshkosh Normal School University of Wisconsin(B.A.) University of Wisconsin Law School(LL.B.) |
| Profession | Lawyer, politician |
Michael Kieran Reilly (July 15, 1869 – October 14, 1944) was anIrish American lawyer andDemocratic politician fromFond du Lac, Wisconsin. He served six full terms and one partial term in theU.S. House of Representatives, representingWisconsin's 6th congressional district from 1913 to 1917, and from December 1930 to January 1939. Earlier in his career, he served asdistrict attorney ofFond du Lac County and city attorney of Fond du Lac.
Michael K. Reilly was born in the town ofEmpire, Wisconsin, inFond du Lac County, to Michael Reilly and Margaret Phelan, on July 15, 1869. After completing his primary education, he graduated from the Oshkosh Normal School (nowUniversity of Wisconsin–Oshkosh). He taught school for several seasons before continuing hisUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison. He graduated from theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science in 1894, and then graduated from theUniversity of Wisconsin Law School in 1895.[1]
After graduating from law school, he worked for a year at the Milwaukee law office of former district attorney John M. Clarke. After a year, he returned toOshkosh, Wisconsin, and partnered with George E. Williams in a firm known as Williams & Reilly. Soon after, Reilly's younger brother, James P. Reilly, joined the firm as Reilly, Williams & Reilly, with offices in Fond du Lac.[2]
During his college years and early legal career, Reilly also became active in politics with theDemocratic Party of Wisconsin, and campaigned for Democratic candidates in the counties around Oshkosh and Fond du Lac.[3] Reilly made his first run for public office in 1898, running forFond du Lac Countydistrict attorney on theDemocratic Party ticket. He won the general election and served as district attorney for a two year term.[3][4]
Reilly was not a candidate for re-election in 1900. He focused on his legal practice for the next several years, but remained an active campaigner for Democratic Party candidates, and participated in several local and state Democratic Party conventions. In January 1905, he was appointed city attorney ofFond du Lac, and served five years in that office.[1] During that time, he was elected a delegate to the1908 Democratic National Convention inDenver, Colorado.[5]
Reilly made his first run forU.S. House of Representatives in 1910, running for the Democratic Party nomination inWisconsin's 6th congressional district. At the time, the 6th congressional district comprisedFond du Lac, Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Washington, and Dodge counties, in eastern Wisconsin. The district had been safely Democratic in each of the elections under this map configuration, but in 1910 the incumbent representative,Charles H. Weisse, announced he would run for U.S. Senate rather than seeking re-election to the House.[6]
Reilly faced a difficult primary against former state senatorMichael E. Burke, who was then the incumbent mayor ofBeaver Dam, Wisconsin. Burke was well-liked among Democratic leaders in the district, and had been encouraged to run for the seat in previous elections.[7] A third candidate, incumbentFond du Lac mayor Everett W. Clark, also sought the nomination; as another prominent resident ofFond du Lac, he ended up splitting the vote from that county. Reilly ultimately fell 1,300 votes short of Burke, taking 35% of the vote.[8]
After the 1910 election, Wisconsin underwent a majorredistricting, and the 6th district was radically transformed.Fond du Lac was the only county remaining of the old 6th district, with Manitowoc, Calumet, Winnebago, Green Lake, and Marquette counties added. The incumbent, Burke, was a resident of Dodge County, and was therefore drawn out of the district.
By the end of 1911, Reilly and his allies were already making clear that he would run for Congress again in the new district.[9] The new district was also more friendly to Reilly due to the inclusion of Oshkosh, where he had many friends and former clients and colleagues. He officially announced his candidacy in February 1912.[10] Reilly faced another challenging primary, this time against state senatorSamuel W. Randolph of Manitowoc. This time Reilly prevailed, receiving 56% of the vote.[11]
In the general election, Reilly faced RepublicanJames H. Davidson, who had been the incumbent in the 8th congressional district but had been drawn into the new 6th district by the redistricting. Davidson had also faced a difficult primary in the new district, against aprogressive opponent, and barely survived. The ideological rift exposed in the primary continued to haunt Davidson in the general election, as his longtime ally, theOshkosh Northwestern abandoned him and endorsed Reilly as a more progressive choice.[12] Reilly narrowly defeated Davidson in the general election, receiving 48% of the vote to Davidson's 45%.[13]
Reilly had an uneventful first term in the63rd Congress among the large Democratic majority. He drew no opponent at the 1914 primary, but faced a rematch with former representative James H. Davidson at the general election. The general election margin in 1914 was nearly identical to the 1912 election, and Reilly won his second term.[14] Reilly ran as a progressive in both elections. In 1914, he received the endorsement of Wisconsin progressive leaderRobert M. La Follette; he was the only Democratic congressional candidate to receive La Follette's endorsement.[15]
During the64th Congress, Reilly was appointed to a coveted seat on theHouse Agriculture Committee, his only committee assignment for that term.[16] During that term, he took a controversial position about enlarging theNational Guard and mandating service for all young men. This was a dangerous hot button in the midst ofWorld War I, when Democratic presidentWoodrow Wilson was still pledging to keep the United States out of the war. The politics of the issue were also complicated by the use of National Guard personnel to put down recent labor unrest.[17] But Reilly remained staunchly anti-war, even after thesinking of the RMSLusitania, which he referred to as the greatest crisis for the country since theAmerican Civil War.[18]
On a more local level, Reilly outraged some of his Democratic allies by recommending his wife's sister's husband for a postmaster position atFond du Lac, rather than the local party's consensus pick,L. A. Lange, the owner and publisher ofFond du Lac's major newspaper, theReporter.[19] By the Spring of 1916, Reilly was facing aprimary challenge from formerFond du Lac mayor Frank J. Wolff. Wolff was immediately endorsed by Reilly's 1910 primary opponent, formerFond du Lac mayor Everett W. Clark.[20] Wolff, however, ultimately dropped out of the race and endorsed former Chilton mayor Frank J. Egerer.[21]
Reilly won the primary, but Egerer took 35% of the vote.[22] In the general election, he faced another rematch with former U.S. representative James H. Davidson. This time, theOshkosh Northwestern and other Republican organs consolidated behind Davidson, principally to support the election of the full Republican ticket. Oshkosh-based interests also accused Reilly of being too consumed with the interests ofFond du Lac, at the expense of other parts of the district.[23] In their third matchup, Davidson finally prevailed, winning an outright majority of the vote.[24]
Reilly resumed his legal practice after leaving office. His allies strongly encouraged him to run again in 1918; he declined to enter the race but remained active speaking and campaigning for the Democratic ticket.[25] After the end ofWorld War I, Reilly spoke around the state for several years in support of U.S. admission to theLeague of Nations; he also began courting women voters for the Democrats after the ratification of theNineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[26][27] Reilly was named a member of the Democraticpresidential elector slate for the1920 United States presidential election; the Republican ticket carried the state of Wisconsin in the general election, however.
Reilly was a frequent attendee at Democratic state functions throughout this era. At the 1922 Democratic state convention, he nominatedWisconsin League of Women Voters presidentJessie Jack Hooper as candidate for U.S. Senate. She received the unanimous support of the convention and went on to be the first female candidate for federal office from Wisconsin.[28]
In 1923, Reilly became an early supporter ofOscar Underwood's campaign for the presidency in 1924.[29] After Underwood declined to run, Reilly became a supporter ofAl Smith, and was elected as a delegate for Smith to the1924 Democratic National Convention.[30]
Reilly's prominent campaigning in 1924 led newspapers to speculate that he would seek election as state attorney general or governor, but Reilly stated in July 1924 that he was "out of politics".[31] Despite that statement, later that month his name was announced as a candidate for Congress again in the 6th congressional district as part of a statewide slate endorsed by the Democratic state convention.[32] Reilly later described his nomination as having been "drafted" by the party. After the state party endorsement, Reilly faced no opponent in the Democratic primary, and went on to face the Republican incumbent,Florian Lampert, in the 1924 general election. Reilly ran as a strong opponent to Republican tariff policies, suggesting that the tariff acted as a tax on individual consumers, and said that Republicans had piled up too many new taxes on Wisconsin residents. He also accused the progressive Republicans of pursuing a socialist policy regime, and accused progressive leader Robert La Follette of engaging inclass warfare.[33] Lampert was re-elected in a landslide, in a Republican wave election.[34]
Reilly remained active in politics and public speaking. A common theme of his speeches was the responsibility of citizenship. He often admonished citizens to remain informed on the issues of the day, vote in all elections, and volunteer for service in the armed forces.[35] Reilly also often cast himself as a defender of the Constitution; he opposed theChild Labor Amendment, saying that constitutional amendments should not be used solely to bypass Supreme Court decisions.[36] In the 1920s, he was regarded by the political press as one of the most effective Democratic speakers in the state.[37] After the outbreak of theCristero War in Mexico, Reilly gave a series of lectures on the issue, defending theCristeros rebels and accusing the Mexican government of Communist infiltration.[38]
After giving a compelling speech at the 1928 Democratic state convention, the convention endorsed Reilly as their choice to run for United States Senate in the1928 election.[39] Reilly secured the nomination without opposition, but after the primary, state Democrats determined to consolidate their support behind progressive RepublicanRobert M. La Follette Jr., and asked Reilly to withdraw from the race.[40] Reilly announced his withdrawal from the race on October 8, 1928.[41] This was part of a broader attempt at a coalition between progressives and Democrats in Wisconsin to throw the state to DemocratAl Smith in the concurrentpresidential election.[42]
In July 1930, incumbent U.S. representative Florian Lampert died after a serious car accident. By the end of the month, Reilly announced he would run again in the 6th congressional district to succeed Lampert.[43] A convention of Democrats in the 6th district blessed Reilly's candidacy, but also endorsed two other candidates, Dr. Clarendon J. Coombs andMorley G. Kelley.[44] Due to Lampert's death, aspecial election to fill the office remaining months of the71st Congress was held concurrent with the general election in 1930. Reilly won both primary elections with similar totals, receiving about 52% in both races.[45]
The Republican nominee was Philip Lehner, a progressive attorney from Green Lake County who had twice previously run for the nomination unsuccessfully.[46] TheOshkosh Northwestern painted the race was a foregone conclusion and predicted it would safely be retained by the Republicans.[47] Other newspapers were more skeptical, predicting a Republican revolt against the Lehner nomination, due to Lehner's personal history and the complicated politics inside the Republican Party at the time. Lehner was a progressive, but was not liked by the progressive leadership aligned withJohn J. Blaine. Stalwart Republicans also sought to thwart the progressives in the 1930 election as retaliation for previous progressive alliances with Democrats against stalwart Republican nominees.[48][49] Part of the progressive resentment against Lehner was also his endorsement of Prohibition. Reilly on the other hand was an unapologetic enemy of theProhibition amendment; he had voted against it in Congress, and promised to seek its repeal if elected again.[50][51] Republican stalwarts in the district did ultimately end up endorsing Reilly over Lehner,[52] and their endorsement likely proved decisive—Reilly won the special and general election by 575 votes and 620 votes, respectively, receiving about 50% of the vote in both elections.[45] Reilly was the only Democrat to win a U.S. House seat from Wisconsin in the 1930 election.
Reilly was sworn in at the start of the Winter 1930–1931 session in the71st Congress. He pledged to cooperate with the Republican majority on any legislation to relieve the unemployment crisis caused by the start of theGreat Depression.[53] Oh his initial arrival inWashington, D.C., Reilly hired Harry E. Schlerf as his private secretary; Schlerf had served 11 years in the same position under the previous incumbent, Lampert, and had sought the Republican nomination to succeed him.[54] Reilly also sought to ensure Lampert's last bill was passed by the House—a bill authorizing a federal survey of the Fox River for flood control plans.[55] During this short term, Reilly also became one of the early advocates for censorship of the motion picture industry, saying "movies have done more to demoralize our people, young and old, than any other factor in our modern life."[56] With no seats available on the House Agriculture Committee, Reilly was offered a seat on theHouse Banking Committee.
The political dynamics in the House changed dramatically with the start of the72nd Congress, in March 1931, when the House majority was one of the smallest in the history of the Congress. At the start of that term, Republicans held 217 seats and Democrats held 216. A dispute between progressive and stalwart Republicans prevented them from organizing the House.[57] By October 1931, Democrats had taken the majority in the House through special elections, and electedJohn Nance Garner speaker. Reilly maintained his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition in this term; through his position on the banking committee, he introduced theFederal Home Loan Bank Act, which passed and was signed into law in the Summer of 1932.
Due to theReapportionment Act of 1929—which capped the total number of members of the U.S. House of Representatives at 438—Wisconsin lost a House seat in reapportionment following the1930 census. Republicans held an overwhelming majority in the60th Wisconsin Legislature, which took on the task of redistricting in 1931. Political press in Wisconsin largely expected that the Republican Legislature would shift the districts to pit Reilly, the sole Democrat, in an incumbent-vs-incumbent matchup.[58] The politics of redistricting in 1931, however, were more complicated than partisanship—Wisconsin's prohibition and anti-prohibition forces had other priorities. Instead the new map pitted stalwart RepublicanCharles A. Kading against prohibition-supporting RepublicanJohn M. Nelson.[59] But all of Wisconsin's remaining congressional districts were dramatically reshaped by the 1931 redistricting, and Reilly's 6th district was no exception. Manitowoc, Green Lake, and Marquette counties were removed from the district, Sheboygan, Washington, and Ozaukee counties were added.[60] The changes actually had the effect of strengthening Reilly's chances of re-election with the addition of consistently Democratic-leaning Ozaukee and Washington counties.[61]
In March 1932, Reilly endorsedFranklin Roosevelt over Al Smith, saying that Roosevelt was most likely to follow through on repealing Prohibition.[62] In the fall, Reilly faced aprimary challenge from former Sheboygan mayorTheodore Dieckmann, but Reilly easily defeated him, taking 73% of the primary vote.[63] At the general election, Reilly faced a relatively strong Republican opponent in state senatorL. J. Fellenz, the younger brother of his former law partner Henry M. Fellenz. Reilly won comfortably in the Democratic wave election.[64] After winning re-election, Reilly was able to fulfill one of his chief political ambitions, voting for theTwenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution at the end of the 72nd Congress—beginning the process of repealing the 18th Amendment.
The 1932 election ushered in President Franklin Roosevelt and large Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress; Reilly was a loyal and reliable vote for Roosevelt's entire agenda. From his seat on the House Banking Committee, he participated in the crafting and passage of many of Roosevelt's early emergency acts to address the ongoing Great Depression, including theEmergency Banking Act of 1933, theSecurities Act of 1933, and the1933 Banking Act. Reilly also provided his vote for the federal pension-slashingEconomy Act of March 20, 1933, despite the opposition of many in the Democratic caucus—the bill was so unpopular, Reilly felt the need to explain his vote to his constituents, writing, "President Roosevelt is the economic doctor in charge of our sick industrial world; he is the only hope of this country today; and if his economy and emergency legislative program fails, I tremble to think of our country's political and economic future.[65]
Reilly faced another primary challenge in 1934, this time from businessman Charles R. Fiss. Fiss was a veteran ofWorld War I, an active member of theAmerican Legion, and a member of the Democratic State Central Committee. He disapproved of several of Reilly's votes on legislation impacting veterans, and vocally supported a more aggressive redistribution of wealth.[66] Reilly won the primary by a wide margin, taking 68% of the vote.[67]
Earlier that year, theWisconsin Progressive Party formally split from theRepublican Party of Wisconsin, after decades of intra-party feuding. The emergence of a potent third party complicated politics throughout the state. In the general election in the 6th congressional district, Reilly faced Republican businessman William J. Campbell and Progressive attorneyWalter D. Corrigan Sr. With all three candidates receiving significant support from their constituencies, Reilly managed to prevail with just 42% of the vote.[67]
The74th Congress was another active term on the banking committee, Reilly was involved in drafting theBanking Act of 1935 and the reauthorization of theReconstruction Finance Corporation; he also gave an empassioned speech on the House floor urging passage of the reauthorization.[68] Reilly had also advocated for several years for finding new revenue sources to begin to address the growing federal budget deficit and was cheered by Roosevelt's endorsement of theRevenue Act of 1935. He voted, along with most of the Democratic caucus, for theSocial Security Act, but broke with Roosevelt over his preferred version of thePublic Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, believing thecorporate death penalty included in the act would ultimately just punish common shareholders.[69] Reilly ran afoul of the veteran community again over theAdjusted Compensation Payment Act, which offered payment to veterans in response to theBonus Army movement. Roosevelt initially vetoed the act but Congress overrode his veto; Reilly was among the minority who voted against overriding Roosevelt's veto.[70]
Reilly also outraged several farm groups over his continued opposition to theFrazier–Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act; the issue was inflamed by national radio pioneer demagogue FatherCharles Coughlin, who suggested Reilly was "controlled by Wall Street".[71] Reilly later signed thedischarge petition to bring the Frazier–Lemke bill to the floor, but said he still planned to vote against it, leading to attacks from both sides. In the end, he was the only member of the Wisconsin delegation to vote against the bill.[72] Reilly had further problems with farmers over the replacement for theAgricultural Adjustment Act, which had been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Wisconsin farmers found the replacement legislation, theSoil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936, insufficient and potentially dangerous to their interests—Reilly again was alone as the only member of the Wisconsin delegation to vote in favor of the law.[73]
Reilly avoided a primary challenge in 1936 but faced another perilous three-way general election against RepublicanFrank Bateman Keefe, a popular attorney from Oshkosh, and Progressive state representativeAdam F. Poltl, also at that time the mayor ofHartford, Wisconsin. Keefe ran an energetic and aggressive campaign against the Roosevelt agenda, accusing him of wasteful spending and challenging Reilly on the effect of the administrations anti-tariff policies on Wisconsin farmers.[74] Poltl accused Reilly of insufficient liberalism, pointing to his opposition to the more generousTownsend plan for old age pensions, and to his positions on farm legislation which tended to be less generous to Wisconsin farmers.[75] Reilly narrowly survived the election, receiving just 39% of the vote.[76]
After nearly losing his seat in 1936, Wisconsin newspapers and political prognosticators predicted Reilly would not survive the mid-term election of 1938. Reilly sought to mitigate his weaknesses during the75th Congress. To attempt to repair his relationship with farmers, he voted with the rest of the Wisconsin delegation to override the Roosevelt veto on H.R. 6763—a measure which extended and expanded an emergency mortgage relief law.[77] He also sought an alliance with the progressives to obtain their support for his federal race, in exchange for his support for their state candidates.[78] Reilly remained a mostly reliable vote for Roosevelt, however, and was one of only two Wisconsin representatives to vote for Roosevelt'sgovernment reorganization legislation in 1938.[79]
In 1938, Reilly drew another primary challenge, this time from Joseph Willihnganz of Sheboygan. Willihnganz was a first-time candidate who criticized Reilly for too much adherance to whatever Roosevelt demanded; he said: "I don't agree with him on that because I don't think President Roosevelt is a democrat."[80] Willihnganz argued for a more radical approach, including government ownership of banks. After losing the Democratic nomination to Reilly, Willihnganz agreed to run in the general election under theUnion Party banner. In addition to Willihnganz, Reilly faced a general election rematch with his 1936 opponents, Keefe and Poltl. Keefe ran a more belligerent campaign than 1936, openly feuding with Wisconsin newspaper editors. He again attempted to nationalize the campaign, attacking Roosevelt as a "dictator" over his court-packing plan and a proposed government reorganization plan. Keefe also adopted populist positions, such as endorsing the Townsend plan for old-age pensions, which Reilly had previously rejected. It was a disastrous mid-term for the Democrats and Reilly was soundly defeated in his election; Keefe received an outright majority with 53.6% of the vote.[81]
After losing his seat in Congress, Reilly did not run for office again, but remained an active public speaker on behalf of the Democratic Party and Roosevelt.[82]
Michael K. Reilly was the seventh of nine children born toIrish American immigrants Michael Reilly and Margaret (née Phelan). The Reilly family were members of theCatholic Church, and Michael K. Reilly was an active member of theCatholic Order of Foresters and theKnights of Columbus.[2]
He married late in life, marrying Mary Isobel Hall in September 1935, when Reilly was 66 years old and serving his sixth term in Congress. Mary Hall was a celebratedsoprano. Reilly's best man at the wedding wasLeo Crowley, the chairman of theFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation.[83] Michael Reilly had no children, and died just 9 years after his marriage.[2] He died atNeptune Township, New Jersey, on October 14, 1944. He was interred at his wife's family plot, atWoodlawn Cemetery inthe Bronx,New York.
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | Primary[8] | Sep. 6 | Michael E. Burke | Democratic | 5,622 | 45.15% | Michael K. Reilly | Dem. | 4,368 | 35.08% | 12,452 | 1,254 |
| Everett W. Clark | Dem. | 2,462 | 19.77% | |||||||||
| 1912 | Primary[11] | Sep. 3 | Michael K. Reilly | Democratic | 4,213 | 56.08% | Samuel W. Randolph | Dem. | 3,300 | 43.92% | 7,513 | 913 |
| General[13] | Nov. 5 | Michael K. Reilly | Democratic | 16,742 | 48.65% | James H. Davidson | Rep. | 15,505 | 45.06% | 34,411 | 1,237 | |
| Martin Georgenson | Soc.D. | 1,659 | 4.82% | |||||||||
| Frank L. Smith | Proh. | 505 | 1.47% | |||||||||
| 1914 | General[14] | Nov. 3 | Michael K. Reilly (inc) | Democratic | 15,115 | 49.54% | James H. Davidson | Rep. | 13,998 | 45.88% | 30,512 | 1,117 |
| Martin Georgenson | Soc.D. | 1,005 | 3.29% | |||||||||
| Verner N. Weeks | Proh. | 392 | 1.28% | |||||||||
| 1916 | Primary[22] | Sep. 5 | Michael K. Reilly (inc) | Democratic | 3,337 | 64.23% | Frank J. Egerer | Dem. | 1,858 | 35.77% | 5,195 | 1,479 |
| General[24] | Nov. 7 | James H. Davidson | Republican | 20,317 | 52.33% | Michael K. Reilly (inc) | Dem. | 17,080 | 43.99% | 38,825 | 3,237 | |
| Robert Zingler | Soc.D. | 929 | 2.39% | |||||||||
| Clarence O. Tinkham | Proh. | 498 | 1.28% | |||||||||
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | General[34] | Nov. 4 | Florian Lampert (inc) | Republican | 45,982 | 70.62% | Michael K. Reilly | Dem. | 19,128 | 29.38% | 65,116 | 26,854 |
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 (special) | Primary[45] | Sep. 16 | Michael K. Reilly | Democratic | 1,470 | 51.76% | C. J. Combs | Dem. | 832 | 29.30% | 2,840 | 638 |
| Morley G. Kelley | Dem. | 538 | 18.94% | |||||||||
| Special[45] | Nov. 4 | Michael K. Reilly | Democratic | 25,400 | 50.56% | Philip Lehner | Rep. | 24,825 | 49.41% | 50,241 | 575 | |
| Leonard L. Gudex | Soc. | 16 | 0.03% | |||||||||
| 1930 | Primary[45] | Sep. 16 | Michael K. Reilly | Democratic | 1,494 | 52.06% | C. J. Combs | Dem. | 794 | 27.67% | 2,870 | 700 |
| Morley G. Kelley | Dem. | 582 | 20.28% | |||||||||
| General[45] | Nov. 4 | Michael K. Reilly | Democratic | 25,605 | 50.24% | Philip Lehner | Rep. | 24,985 | 49.02% | 50,964 | 620 | |
| Leonard L. Gudex | Soc. | 374 | 0.73% | |||||||||
| 1932 | Primary[63] | Sep. 20 | Michael K. Reilly (inc) | Democratic | 12,647 | 73.51% | Theodore Dieckmann | Dem. | 4,555 | 26.48% | 17,204 | 8,092 |
| General[64] | Nov. 8 | Michael K. Reilly (inc) | Democratic | 59,055 | 59.07% | L. J. Fellenz | Rep. | 38,708 | 38.72% | 99,971 | 20,347 | |
| Franklin Pfeiffer | Soc. | 2,208 | 2.21% | |||||||||
| 1934 | Primary[67] | Sep. 18 | Michael K. Reilly (inc) | Democratic | 15,940 | 68.08% | Charles R. Fiss | Dem. | 7,472 | 31.92% | 23,412 | 8,468 |
| General[67] | Nov. 6 | Michael K. Reilly (inc) | Democratic | 34,664 | 42.29% | Walter D. Corrigan Sr. | Prog. | 28,477 | 34.74% | 81,966 | 6,187 | |
| William J. Campbell | Rep. | 18,825 | 22.97% | |||||||||
| 1936 | General[76] | Nov. 3 | Michael K. Reilly (inc) | Democratic | 41,688 | 39.33% | Frank B. Keefe | Rep. | 38,904 | 36.71% | 105,987 | 2,784 |
| Adam F. Poltl | Prog. | 25,395 | 23.96% | |||||||||
| 1938 | Primary[81] | Sep. 20 | Michael K. Reilly (inc) | Democratic | 11,745 | 75.43% | Joseph Willihnganz | Dem. | 3,825 | 24.57% | 15,570 | 7,920 |
| General[81] | Nov. 8 | Frank B. Keefe | Republican | 46,082 | 53.59% | Michael K. Reilly (inc) | Dem. | 25,842 | 30.06% | 85,982 | 20,240 | |
| Adam F. Poltl | Prog. | 13,258 | 15.42% | |||||||||
| Joseph Willihnganz | Union | 800 | 0.93% | |||||||||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's 6th congressional district March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1917 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's 6th congressional district December 1, 1930 – January 3, 1939 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by Herbert E. Swett | District Attorney ofFond du Lac County, Wisconsin January 1, 1899 – January 1, 1901 | Succeeded by Ray L. Morse |
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