1904 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

The 1904 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 8, 1904 as part of the 1904 United States presidential election. State voters chose thirteen electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1904 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

November 8, 1904

Nominee Theodore Roosevelt Alton B. Parker Eugene V. Debs Party Republican Democratic Social Democratic Home state New York New York Indiana Running mate Charles W. Fairbanks Henry G. Davis Benjamin Hanford Electoral vote 13 0 0 Popular vote 280,315 124,205 28,240 Percentage 63.21% 28.01% 6.37%

County Results Roosevelt   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90% Parker   40-50%   50-60%

President before election Theodore Roosevelt Republican Elected President Theodore Roosevelt Republican

Background and vote

Wisconsin during the Third Party System was a Republican-leaning but competitive state whereby historically anti-Civil War German Catholic counties stood opposed to highly pro-war and firmly Republican Yankee areas.[1] However, following the Populist movement, whose inflationary monetary policies were opposed by almost all urban classes and viewed as dangerously radical by rural German Catholics,[2] Wisconsin’s upper classes, along with the majority of workers who followed them, completely fled from William Jennings Bryan’s agrarian and free silver sympathies.[3]

Wisconsin would henceforth become almost a one-party polity dominated by the Republican Party.[4] The Democratic Party became entirely uncompetitive outside the previously anti-Yankee areas adjoining Lake Michigan in the eastern part of the state. As Democratic strength weakened severely after 1894 – although the state did develop a strong Socialist Party 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, and the conservative “Regular” faction.[5]

Neither Republican incumbent Theodore Roosevelt nor Democratic nominee Alton B. Parker would campaign in Wisconsin, as the state had been amongst the most Republican in the nation in both the 1896 and 1900 presidential elections. No official polls were taken in the state, but Frederick W. Cotzhausen, a lifelong Milwaukee Democrat, said during October that the state would vote strongly for Roosevelt.[6]

Wisconsin would vote powerfully for Roosevelt, who defeated Parker more than two-to-one, and beat William McKinley’s 1896 performance by almost four percent. Roosevelt was the first Republican to carry Calumet County.[7]

Results

1904 United States presidential election in Wisconsin[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Theodore Roosevelt	280,315	63.21%	13
	Democratic	Alton B. Parker	124,205	28.01%	0
	Social Democratic	Eugene V. Debs	28,240	6.37%	0
	Prohibition	Silas Swallow	9,872	2.23%	0
	People's	Thomas E. Watson	560	0.13%	0
	Socialist Labor	Charles H. Corregan	249	0.06%	0
Totals			442,632	100.0%	13

Results by county

County	Theodore Roosevelt[9] Republican		Alton Brooks Parker[9] Democratic		Eugene Victor Debs[10] Social Democratic		Silas Comfort Swallow[10] Prohibition		Thomas Edward Watson[10] Populist		Charles Hunter Corregan[10] Socialist Labor		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adams	1,399	79.90%	273	15.59%	29	1.66%	48	2.74%	2	0.11%	0	0.00%	1,126	64.31%	1,751
Ashland	3,406	71.40%	1,004	21.05%	235	4.93%	117	2.45%	5	0.10%	3	0.06%	2,402	50.36%	4,770
Barron	3,575	78.30%	625	13.69%	103	2.26%	243	5.32%	9	0.20%	11	0.24%	2,950	64.61%	4,566
Bayfield	2,665	84.98%	350	11.16%	32	1.02%	81	2.58%	1	0.03%	7	0.22%	2,315	73.82%	3,136
Brown	6,027	65.84%	2,667	29.13%	329	3.59%	109	1.19%	8	0.09%	14	0.15%	3,360	36.71%	9,154
Buffalo	2,147	68.35%	911	29.00%	10	0.32%	64	2.04%	9	0.29%	0	0.00%	1,236	39.35%	3,141
Burnett	1,262	86.50%	82	5.62%	36	2.47%	67	4.59%	9	0.62%	3	0.21%	1,180	80.88%	1,459
Calumet	1,736	54.97%	1,258	39.84%	117	3.70%	38	1.20%	9	0.28%	0	0.00%	478	15.14%	3,158
Chippewa	3,744	66.49%	1,670	29.66%	59	1.05%	141	2.50%	12	0.21%	5	0.09%	2,074	36.83%	5,631
Clark	4,091	75.68%	1,050	19.42%	79	1.46%	184	3.40%	1	0.02%	1	0.02%	3,041	56.25%	5,406
Columbia	4,730	67.53%	1,907	27.23%	158	2.26%	206	2.94%	3	0.04%	0	0.00%	2,823	40.31%	7,004
Crawford	2,279	61.08%	1,362	36.50%	32	0.86%	58	1.55%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	917	24.58%	3,731
Dane	11,041	63.51%	5,679	32.66%	242	1.39%	419	2.41%	4	0.02%	1	0.01%	5,362	30.84%	17,386
Dodge	4,248	44.91%	5,005	52.91%	68	0.72%	133	1.41%	4	0.04%	1	0.01%	-757	-8.00%	9,459
Door	2,689	80.51%	515	15.42%	33	0.99%	100	2.99%	3	0.09%	0	0.00%	2,174	65.09%	3,340
Douglas	4,564	72.94%	974	15.57%	549	8.77%	130	2.08%	11	0.18%	29	0.46%	3,590	57.38%	6,257
Dunn	3,303	81.25%	546	13.43%	84	2.07%	123	3.03%	7	0.17%	2	0.05%	2,757	67.82%	4,065
Eau Claire	4,343	73.08%	1,224	20.60%	198	3.33%	160	2.69%	12	0.20%	6	0.10%	3,119	52.48%	5,943
Florence	562	85.41%	83	12.61%	5	0.76%	8	1.22%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	479	72.80%	658
Fond du Lac	7,027	59.58%	4,417	37.45%	149	1.26%	178	1.51%	22	0.19%	1	0.01%	2,610	22.13%	11,794
Forest	991	82.51%	160	13.32%	24	2.00%	23	1.92%	2	0.17%	1	0.08%	831	69.19%	1,201
Gates	1,415	81.51%	247	14.23%	23	1.32%	49	2.82%	1	0.06%	1	0.06%	1,168	67.28%	1,736
Grant	5,804	64.52%	2,886	32.08%	77	0.86%	219	2.43%	8	0.09%	1	0.01%	2,918	32.44%	8,995
Green	2,992	62.05%	1,466	30.40%	139	2.88%	219	4.54%	5	0.10%	1	0.02%	1,526	31.65%	4,822
Green Lake	2,181	60.92%	1,269	35.45%	43	1.20%	84	2.35%	3	0.08%	0	0.00%	912	25.47%	3,580
Iowa	3,328	64.58%	1,639	31.81%	21	0.41%	162	3.14%	3	0.06%	0	0.00%	1,689	32.78%	5,153
Iron	1,250	81.12%	246	15.96%	16	1.04%	25	1.62%	3	0.19%	1	0.06%	1,004	65.15%	1,541
Jackson	2,746	82.76%	479	14.44%	1	0.03%	92	2.77%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	2,267	68.32%	3,318
Jefferson	3,669	47.67%	3,778	49.09%	99	1.29%	147	1.91%	2	0.03%	1	0.01%	-109	-1.42%	7,696
Juneau	3,234	70.11%	1,244	26.97%	42	0.91%	79	1.71%	12	0.26%	2	0.04%	1,990	43.14%	4,613
Kenosha	3,293	60.86%	1,592	29.42%	440	8.13%	77	1.42%	5	0.09%	4	0.07%	1,701	31.44%	5,411
Kewaunee	1,578	49.72%	1,457	45.90%	100	3.15%	36	1.13%	3	0.09%	0	0.00%	121	3.81%	3,174
La Crosse	5,506	61.76%	3,089	34.65%	119	1.33%	190	2.13%	7	0.08%	4	0.04%	2,417	27.11%	8,915
Lafayette	2,875	58.19%	1,928	39.02%	28	0.57%	106	2.15%	1	0.02%	3	0.06%	947	19.17%	4,941
Langlade	2,105	65.72%	1,018	31.78%	31	0.97%	46	1.44%	2	0.06%	1	0.03%	1,087	33.94%	3,203
Lincoln	2,850	70.39%	1,004	24.80%	109	2.69%	69	1.70%	14	0.35%	3	0.07%	1,846	45.59%	4,049
Manitowoc	4,626	53.28%	3,274	37.71%	687	7.91%	93	1.07%	1	0.01%	2	0.02%	1,352	15.57%	8,683
Marathon	6,144	63.24%	3,225	33.19%	177	1.82%	159	1.64%	4	0.04%	7	0.07%	2,919	30.04%	9,716
Marinette	3,977	77.30%	816	15.86%	195	3.79%	144	2.80%	11	0.21%	2	0.04%	3,161	61.44%	5,145
Marquette	1,604	65.47%	752	30.69%	10	0.41%	81	3.31%	2	0.08%	1	0.04%	852	34.78%	2,450
Milwaukee	32,587	46.21%	18,560	26.32%	18,340	26.01%	934	1.32%	30	0.04%	61	0.09%	14,027	19.89%	70,512
Monroe	3,892	66.77%	1,749	30.01%	35	0.60%	146	2.50%	7	0.12%	0	0.00%	2,143	36.76%	5,829
Oconto	3,279	73.70%	1,024	23.02%	65	1.46%	71	1.60%	6	0.13%	4	0.09%	2,255	50.69%	4,449
Oneida	1,710	75.50%	375	16.56%	130	5.74%	46	2.03%	2	0.09%	2	0.09%	1,335	58.94%	2,265
Outagamie	5,949	63.65%	3,143	33.63%	113	1.21%	136	1.46%	3	0.03%	2	0.02%	2,806	30.02%	9,346
Ozaukee	1,492	47.52%	1,501	47.80%	112	3.57%	27	0.86%	6	0.19%	2	0.06%	-9	-0.29%	3,140
Pepin	1,033	73.21%	342	24.24%	3	0.21%	30	2.13%	1	0.07%	2	0.14%	691	48.97%	1,411
Pierce	3,492	82.28%	594	14.00%	25	0.59%	130	3.06%	3	0.07%	0	0.00%	2,898	68.28%	4,244
Polk	2,985	85.55%	296	8.48%	98	2.81%	101	2.89%	2	0.06%	7	0.20%	2,689	77.07%	3,489
Portage	3,633	61.09%	2,168	36.46%	44	0.74%	101	1.70%	1	0.02%	0	0.00%	1,465	24.63%	5,947
Price	2,202	80.10%	401	14.59%	71	2.58%	73	2.66%	2	0.07%	0	0.00%	1,801	65.51%	2,749
Racine	5,573	55.61%	2,584	25.79%	1,454	14.51%	258	2.57%	147	1.47%	5	0.05%	2,989	29.83%	10,021
Richland	2,698	61.51%	1,340	30.55%	49	1.12%	296	6.75%	3	0.07%	0	0.00%	1,358	30.96%	4,386
Rock	7,972	71.65%	2,348	21.10%	463	4.16%	319	2.87%	23	0.21%	2	0.02%	5,624	50.54%	11,127
Sauk	4,805	67.53%	1,914	26.90%	53	0.74%	343	4.82%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	2,891	40.63%	7,115
Sawyer	782	75.92%	205	19.90%	13	1.26%	29	2.82%	1	0.10%	0	0.00%	577	56.02%	1,030
Shawano	3,684	72.56%	1,239	24.40%	24	0.47%	117	2.30%	11	0.22%	2	0.04%	2,445	48.16%	5,077
Sheboygan	6,121	57.18%	3,430	32.04%	901	8.42%	200	1.87%	33	0.31%	19	0.18%	2,691	25.14%	10,704
St. Croix	3,898	68.33%	1,569	27.50%	109	1.91%	116	2.03%	10	0.18%	3	0.05%	2,329	40.82%	5,705
Taylor	1,725	67.81%	728	28.62%	44	1.73%	43	1.69%	3	0.12%	1	0.04%	997	39.19%	2,544
Trempealeau	3,560	75.54%	981	20.81%	10	0.21%	157	3.33%	5	0.11%	0	0.00%	2,579	54.72%	4,713
Vernon	4,744	82.35%	762	13.23%	28	0.49%	220	3.82%	6	0.10%	1	0.02%	3,982	69.12%	5,761
Vilas	1,467	79.08%	322	17.36%	39	2.10%	25	1.35%	1	0.05%	1	0.05%	1,145	61.73%	1,855
Walworth	4,892	73.42%	1,370	20.56%	135	2.03%	263	3.95%	3	0.05%	0	0.00%	3,522	52.86%	6,663
Washburn	989	77.33%	207	16.18%	49	3.83%	32	2.50%	1	0.08%	1	0.08%	782	61.14%	1,279
Washington	2,565	52.00%	2,243	45.47%	68	1.38%	55	1.11%	0	0.00%	2	0.04%	322	6.53%	4,933
Waukesha	5,247	62.63%	2,693	32.14%	231	2.76%	205	2.45%	1	0.01%	1	0.01%	2,554	30.48%	8,378
Waupaca	5,471	81.34%	942	14.01%	73	1.09%	237	3.52%	3	0.04%	0	0.00%	4,529	67.34%	6,726
Waushara	3,140	87.34%	325	9.04%	27	0.75%	96	2.67%	4	0.11%	3	0.08%	2,815	78.30%	3,595
Winnebago	7,720	62.63%	4,006	32.50%	311	2.52%	263	2.13%	17	0.14%	9	0.07%	3,714	30.13%	12,326
Wood	4,002	67.02%	1,673	28.02%	195	3.27%	96	1.61%	5	0.08%	0	0.00%	2,329	39.01%	5,971
Totals	280,315	63.21%	124,205	28.01%	28,240	6.37%	9,872	2.23%	560	0.13%	249	0.06%	156,110	35.20%	443,441

References

1. Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 381-382, 414 ISBN 978-0-691-16324-6
2. Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 384
3. Sundquist, James; Politics and Policy: The Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Years, p. 526 ISBN 0815719094
4. Burnham, Walter Dean; 'The System of 1896: An Analysis'; in The Evolution of American Electoral Systems, pp. 178-179 ISBN 0313213798
5. Hansen, John Mark; Shigeo Hirano, and Snyder, James M. Jr.; ‘Parties within Parties: Parties, Factions, and Coordinated Politics, 1900-1980’; in Gerber, Alan S. and Schickler, Eric; Governing in a Polarized Age: Elections, Parties, and Political Representation in America, pp. 165-168 ISBN 978-1-107-09509-0
6. ‘Will Vote for Roosevelt’; Appleton Post, October 20, 1904, p. 4
7. Menendez, Albert J. The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 337-339 ISBN 0786422173
8. "1904 Presidential General Election Results – Wisconsin". Retrieved August 18, 2016.
9. Géoelections; Popular Vote at the Presidential Election for 1904 (.xlsx file for €15)
10. Géoelections; Popular Vote for Eugene V. Debs (1904) (.xlsx file for €15)