The 1849 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1849.

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Nelson Dewey Nelson Webster Dewey (December 19, 1813July 21, 1889) was an American pioneer, lawyer, and politician. He was the first Governor of Wisconsin. Early life Dewey was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, on December 19, 1813, to Ebenezer and Lucy (né ...

won the election with 52% of the vote, winning his second term as

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

. Dewey defeated Whig Party candidate

Alexander L. Collins Alexander Lynn Collins (March 17, 1812 – October 31, 1901) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. He was an important leader of the Whig Party in the early years of Wisconsin, serving as party chairman, nominee for United States ...

and Free Soil Party candidate Warren Chase. This was the second Wisconsin gubernatorial election, and the first election for a full two-year gubernatorial term.

Democratic Party

was the incumbent governor, having been elected in the 1848 election. He was a prominent lawyer and real-estate investor in

Grant County, Wisconsin Grant County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 51,938. Its county seat is Lancaster, Wisconsin, Lancaster. The county is named after t ...

. He did extensive business with the lead-mining industry, which was a major component of the economy of the Wisconsin Territory. He had been a member of nearly every session of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature, first as a member of the Territorial Assembly, from 1838 to 1842, then as a member of the Territorial Council from 1842 to 1846. He served as Speaker of the Territorial Assembly in 1840, and President of the Territorial Council in 1846.

Other candidates

Although Dewey was renominated on the first ballot, two other names were placed in candidacy for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination at the 1849 State Democratic Convention, held in Madison: * Harrison Carroll Hobart, of Sheboygan, was a state senator and prominent lawyer. He had also served in the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives. * William Rudolph Smith, of Mineral Point, had been a colonel in the War of 1812 and served in the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...

before moving to the Wisconsin Territory. In Wisconsin, he negotiated an important treaty with the Chippewa, obtaining a portion of their land, and had been a delegate to Wisconsin's first constitutional convention.

Nomination

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Vote of the Wisconsin Democratic Convention, September 6, 1849

Free Soil Party

Warren Chase was, at the time of the 1849 election, a member of the Wisconsin State Senate, having been elected on the Democratic Party ticket in 1848. He represented Fond du Lac and

Winnebago Winnebago can refer to: * The exonym of the Ho-Chunk tribe of Native North Americans with reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin ** Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a federally recognized tribe group in the state ** The Winnebago language of the ...

counties. Chase was an abolitionist and temperance advocate, and was one of only three delegates to attend both the first and second Wisconsin constitutional conventions. Chase was also notable for his

fourierist Fourierism () is the systematic set of economic, political, and social beliefs first espoused by French intellectual Charles Fourier (1772–1837). Based upon a belief in the inevitability of communal associations of people who worked and lived to ...

beliefs, having participated in the founding of the Wisconsin phalanx (commune) at Ceresco, Wisconsin.

Whig Party

was a prominent lawyer in Madison. At the time of the 1849 election, he was a member of the first Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin. He had been the Whig Party candidate for United States Congress in the 2nd congressional district in 1848. He also served in the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature from 1846 until the territorial government was replaced by the state government in 1848.

Results

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 6, 1849

Results by County

! style="text-align:left;", Dane , 666 , 44.08% , , 759 , , 50.23% , 86 , 5.69% , 93 , 6.15% , 1,511 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Dodge , , 1,255 , , 60.31% , 714 , 34.31% , 112 , 5.38% , 541 , 26.00% , 2,081 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Fond du Lac , , 640 , , 51.24% , 389 , 31.14% , 220 , 17.61% , 251 , 20.10% , 1,249 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Grant , 1,036 , 48.07% , , 1,103 , , 51.18% , 16 , 0.74% , 67 , 3.11% , 2,155 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Green , , 443 , , 55.38% , 324 , 40.50% , 33 , 4.13% , 119 , 14.88% , 800 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Iowa , , 688 , , 51.00% , 655 , 48.55% , 6 , 0.44% , 33 , 2.45% , 1,349 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Jefferson , , 897 , , 52.64% , 649 , 38.09% , 158 , 9.27% , 248 , 14.55% , 1,704 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Lafayette , , 1,094 , , 72.45% , 416 , 27.55% , 0 , 0.0% , 678 , 44.90% , 1,510 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Marquette , , 259 , , 40.72% , 247 , 38.84% , 130 , 20.44% , 12 , 1.89% , 636 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Milwaukee , , 2,108 , , 71.05% , 718 , 24.20% , 141 , 4.75% , 1,390 , 46.85% , 2,967 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Portage , , 287 , , 52.47% , 259 , 47.35% , 1 , 0.18% , 28 , 5.12% , 547 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Racine , 761 , 32.03% , 716 , 30.13% , , 899 , , 37.84% , 138 , 5.81% , 2,376 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Rock , 604 , 26.11% , , 1,168 , , 50.50% , 541 , 23.39% , 564 , 24.38% , 2,313 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Sauk , , 355 , , 60.79% , 226 , 38.70% , 3 , 0.51% , 129 , 22.09% , 584 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Sheboygan , , 635 , , 65.87% , 322 , 33.40% , 7 , 0.73% , 313 , 32.47% , 964 , - ! style="text-align:left;", St. Croix , , 56 , , 72.73% , 21 , 27.27% , 0 , 0.0% , 35 , 45.45% , 77 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Walworth , 646 , 30.49% , 667 , 31.48% , , 806 , , 38.04% , 139 , 6.56% , 2,119 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Washington , , 1,616 , , 84.61% , 208 , 10.89% , 86 , 4.50% , 1,408 , 73.72% , 1,910 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Waukesha , , 1,319 , , 55.94% , 669 , 28.37% , 370 , 15.69% , 650 , 27.57% , 2,358 , - ! style="text-align:left;", Winnebago , 318 , 40.46% , , 335 , , 42.62% , 133 , 16.92% , 17 , 2.16% , 786

References

Gubernatorial

1849 Events January–March * January 1 – France begins issue of the Ceres series, the nation's first postage stamps. * January 5 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Austrian army, led by Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, enters in th ...

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