The 1954 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1954.
Incumbent
Republican Governor Walter J. Kohler Jr.
Walter Jodok Kohler Jr. (April 4, 1904 – March 21, 1976) was a member of the Kohler family of Wisconsin and was the 33rd Governor of Wisconsin, serving three terms from 1951 to 1957. He was a leading figure in state and national Republican ...
defeated
Democratic nominee
William Proxmire in a rematch of the
1952 election with 51.45% of the vote.
Primary election
Primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
s were held on September 14, 1954.
Democratic party
Candidates
*
James E. Doyle, former Chairman of the
Wisconsin Democratic Party
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler.
Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public educ ...
*
William Proxmire, Democratic nominee for Governor in
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
Results
Republican party
Candidates
*
Walter J. Kohler Jr.
Walter Jodok Kohler Jr. (April 4, 1904 – March 21, 1976) was a member of the Kohler family of Wisconsin and was the 33rd Governor of Wisconsin, serving three terms from 1951 to 1957. He was a leading figure in state and national Republican ...
, incumbent
Governor
Results
General election
Candidates
*
William Proxmire, Democratic
*
Walter J. Kohler Jr.
Walter Jodok Kohler Jr. (April 4, 1904 – March 21, 1976) was a member of the Kohler family of Wisconsin and was the 33rd Governor of Wisconsin, serving three terms from 1951 to 1957. He was a leading figure in state and national Republican ...
, Republican
*Arthur Wepfer, Socialist Labor
Results
Results by county
Proxmire was the first Democrat since
George W. Peck in
1904
Events
January
* January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''.
* January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system.
* ...
to win
Florence County. By voting for Proxmire,
Rusk County backed the losing candidate for the first time since its establishment in 1901.
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
*
Ashland
*
Bayfield
*
Chippewa
*
Dane
Dane or Danes may refer to:
People Pertaining to Denmark
* Dane, somebody from Denmark
* Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark
* Danes (Germanic tribe)
Other people
* Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the nam ...
*
Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
*Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...
*
Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare".
Place names (Canada)
Communities
*Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...
*
Florence
*
Forest
*
Jackson
*
Kenosha
*
Langlade
*
Manitowoc
*
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
*
Portage
Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
*
Price
*
Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...
*
Rusk
*
Taylor
Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to:
People
* Taylor (surname)
**List of people with surname Taylor
* Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah
* Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron
* Justice Taylor (disambiguation)
Plac ...
*
Trempealeau
*
Vernon
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{1954 United States elections
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
Wisconsin
Gubernatorial
November 1954 events in the United States