The 1908 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 3, 1908 as part of the

1908 United States presidential election The 1908 United States presidential election was the 31st quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1908. Secretary of War and Republican Party nominee William Howard Taft defeated three-time Democratic nominee William Jen ...

. State voters chose 13 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

. Ever since the decline of the Populist movement,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

had become almost a one-party state dominated by the Republican Party. The Democratic Party became entirely uncompetitive outside certain German Catholic counties adjoining

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

as the upper classes, along with the majority of workers who followed them, completely fled from

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...

’s agrarian and

free silver Free silver was a major economic policy issue in the United States in the late 19th-century. Its advocates were in favor of an expansionary monetary policy featuring the unlimited coinage of silver into money on-demand, as opposed to strict adhe ...

sympathies. As Democratic strength weakened severely after 1894 – although the state did develop a strong

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

to provide opposition to the GOP – Wisconsin developed the direct Republican primary in 1903 and this ultimately created competition between the “League” under

Robert M. La Follette Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th Governor of Wisconsin. A Republican for most of his ...

, and the conservative “Regular” faction. When

was nominated for a third presidential bid, he visited Wisconsin in early August to urge the Democrats in the state legislature to support his state policies. An earlier poll had suggest Bryan gaining a substantial part of the radical La Follette following, and Bryan would ridicule new Republican nominee

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

in Milwaukee during the last week of September. Despite Bryan’s campaigns, October polls by the ''

Chicago Record-Herald The ''Chicago Record-Herald'' was a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois from 1901 until 1914. It was the successor to the '' Chicago Morning Herald,'' the ''Chicago Times Herald'' and the ''Chicago Record''. H. H. Kohlsaat, owner of the '' ...

'' said that Wisconsin was certain to vote for Taft,‘Wisconsin for Taft: The ''Record-Herald'' Poll Suggests a Majority of 87,000’; ''

The Hutchinson News ''The Hutchinson News'' is a daily newspaper serving the city of Hutchinson, Kansas, United States. The publication was awarded the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service "for its courageous and constructive campaign, culminating in 1964, to bri ...

'', October 20, 1908, p. 1 As things turned out, the ''Record-Herald'' polls were accurate, with Taft winning by eighty-one thousand votes, and carrying all but six counties. Bryan had previously lost Wisconsin to

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

in both

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

and

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

Results

Results by county

References

{{State Results of the 1908 U.S. presidential election

1908 Wisconsin elections

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

Results

Results by county

See also

References