Draft:1958 Wisconsin elections

1958 Wisconsin elections

April 1, 1958 November 4, 1958

The 1958 Wisconsin fall general election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 4, 1958. All of Wisconsin's partisan executive and administrative offices were up for election as well as one of Wisconsin's U.S. Senate seats, and Wisconsin's ten seats in the United States House of Representatives. The fall election also filled the sixteen even-numbered seats in the Wisconsin Senate and all 100 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 74th Wisconsin Legislature. The 1958 Wisconsin fall primary was held on September 9, 1958.

The 1958 Wisconsin spring election was held April 1, 1958. Various nonpartisan local and judicial offices were up for election, including one seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The November partisan elections marked a massive shift in Wisconsin's politics. While, Wisconsin's state elections had long been dominated by the Republican Party. Wisconsin's November elections marked a landslide swing to the Democratic Party, which attracted comparisons to the Democratic Party's 1932 landslide in the state (which had kicked off a brief period of Democratic success). The 1958 elections kicked-off a period of transition from Wisconsin's longtime status as a solidly-Republican state, to the a new period in which the state experienced far more competitive general elections.

https://web.archive.org/web/20160316213040/https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1971/reference/wi.wibluebk1971.i0011.pdf

General overview

Background

Further information: 1958 United States elections and Political party strength in Wisconsin

Prior to 1958, the Republican Party had dominated the state's elections for nearly two decades.

Analysis of the Spring elections

The spring elections saw many incumbents lose their seats, including a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice

and several mayors.

Logistics of the November election

1958's November elections were a national "midterm election", taking place in the middle of Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower's second term.

Ballots included a straight ticket option covering partisan elections.

Analysis of the November elections

The November elections marked a massive shift in Wisconsin's politics. While, Wisconsin's state elections had long been dominated by the Republican Party, Wisconsin's November elections marked a landslide victory for the Democratic Party. Democrats flipped control of all but one state constitutional office (with the incumbent secretary of state winning re-election), and flipping control of the State Assembly (the lower house of the Legislature). The results instantly drew comparisons to the Democratic Party's 1932 landslide in the state.

The morning following the election, John Wyngaard of the La Crosse Tribune wrote,

An era in Wisconsin political life has ended. Rarely in the history of Wisconsin has a political party scored a triumph, and broken the power of its opposition, in the way the Democrats achieved yesterday. It was part of a national and apparently irresistible trend. Republicansof this state who had things mostly their own way for nearly a gneeration might find some solace–if they are disposed to do so today–in the realization that they made a better show in the face of the tide than their party in most of the country. They faced the blotting nervously. The depth of their trouble, however, was not recognized. Nor did the Democrats, including Gov. Elect. Gaylord Nelson, know how commanding and cheerful was their position. Or [Democrats] might have been cautious out of a respect for this state's uninterrupted record of Republican ballot box majorities over nearly two decades.

The election coincided with great results for the Democratic Party both in federal elections and in other state elections. In the November 1958 elections, other states also saw Democratic gains in their elections. Similar to Wisconsin, in California the Democratic Party greatly dismantled Republican control of the state government. This included flipping the governorship in the state's gubernatorial election. While Republicans did see some positive outcomes in November 1958 state elections, they were less extensive than the gains made by the Democratic party. The most prominent Republican success was the defeat of the prominent Democratic New York governor Averell Harriman by Republican challenger Nelson Rockefeller (the latter being considered to be a rising star in Republican politics) in a race deemed the "battle of the millionaires" due to the two men's wealth. The New York governor election's outcome impacted jockeying for the two major party's 1960 presidential nominations, elevating Rockefeller as a prospect for the Republican presidential nomination (potentially complicating the chances of the front-runner –Vice President Richard Nixon– by elevating a potential rival) while also all but assuring that Harriman would no longer be a prospect for the Democratic nomination. In addition to New York, Republicans also flipped governorships away from the Democrats in three other elections (Arizona, Oregon, and Rhode Island). Democrats, however, flipped more governorships away from Republicans. In addition to flipping Wisconsin and California's governorship, Democrats flipped Republican-held governorships in fourth further elections (Maryland, Nevada, Ohio, and South Dakota).

Federal elections

U.S. Senate

Main article: 1958 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

Democratic incumbent William Proxmire was re-elected to a full term.

U.S. House of Representatives

Further information: 1958 United States House of Representatives elections

All 10 of Wisconsin's congressional districts were up for election in November. For the first time since 1932, Wisconsin elected an evenly-split delegation, with each party capturing of the state's seats. In Wisconsin, Democrats unseated two Republican incumbents. Nationally, Democrats won their strongest seat share in the United States House of Representatives since the New Deal era.

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Wisconsin 1	Vacant			Lawrence H. Smith (R) died January 22, 1958. Democratic gain.	▌Y Gerald T. Flynn (Democratic) 50.6% ▌Eleanor J. Smith (Republican) 49.4%
Wisconsin 2	Donald Edgar Tewes	Republican	1956	Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain.	▌Y Robert Kastenmeier (Democratic) 52.1% ▌Donald Edgar Tewes (Republican) 47.9%
Wisconsin 3	Gardner R. Withrow	Republican	1948	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Gardner R. Withrow (Republican) 51.2% ▌Norman M. Clapp (Democratic) 48.8%
Wisconsin 4	Clement Zablocki	Democratic	1948	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Clement Zablocki (Democratic) 74.1% ▌James J. Arnold (Republican) 25.9%
Wisconsin 5	Henry S. Reuss	Democratic	1954	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Henry S. Reuss (Democratic) 69.5% ▌Otto R. Werkmeister (Republican) 30.5%
Wisconsin 6	William Van Pelt	Republican	1950	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y William Van Pelt (Republican) 52.8% ▌James Megellas (Democratic) 47.2%
Wisconsin 7	Melvin Laird	Republican	1952	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Melvin Laird (Republican) 60.5% ▌Kenneth Traeger (Democratic) 39.5%
Wisconsin 8	John W. Byrnes	Republican	1944	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John W. Byrnes (Republican) 57.3% ▌Milo Singler (Democratic) 42.7%
Wisconsin 9	Lester Johnson	Democratic	1953 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Lester Johnson (Democratic) 63.1% ▌Charles A. Hornback (Republican) 36.9%
Wisconsin 10	Alvin O'Konski	Republican	1942	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Alvin O'Konski (Republican) 67.1% ▌Basil G. Kennedy (Democratic) 32.9%

State executive offices

Governor

Main article: 1958 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

1958 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

November 4, 1958

Nominee Gaylord A. Nelson Vernon W. Thomson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 644,296 556,391 Percentage 53.59% 46.28%

County results Nelson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Thomson:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Vernon W. Thomson Republican Elected Governor Gaylord A. Nelson Democratic

1958 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Gaylord A. Nelson	644,296	53.59%	+5.48%
	Republican	Vernon W. Thomson (incumbent)	556,391	46.28%	−5.61%
	Independent	Wayne Leverenz	1,485	0.12%
		Scattering	47	0.00%
Majority			87,905	7.31%
Total votes			1,202,219	100.00%
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing	+11.09%

Attorney general

1958 Wisconsin Attorney General election

November 4, 1958 (1958-11-04)

Nominee John W. Reynolds Jr. Stewart G. Honeck Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 617,586 533,131 Percentage 53.67% 46.33%

Attorney General before election Stewart G. Honeck Republican Elected Attorney General John W. Reynolds Jr. Democratic

Attorney General Democratic primary

1958 Wisconsin Attorney General Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John W. Reynolds Jr.	143,866	62.47
	Democratic	Christ T. Seraphim	86,431	37.53
Total votes			230,297	100

Attorney General Republican primary

1958 Wisconsin Attorney General Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stewart G. Honeck (incumbent)	219,001	100
Total votes			219,001	100

Attorney General general election

1958 Wisconsin Attorney General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John W. Reynolds Jr.	617,586	53.67
	Republican	Stewart G. Honeck	533131	46.33
Majority			84455	7.34
Total votes			1150717	100
	Swing to Democratic from Republican		Swing

Secretary of state

1958 Wisconsin Secretary of State Election

November 4, 1958

Candidate Robert C. Zimmerman Jerome J. Reinke Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 604,177 566,606 Percentage 51.60% 48.40%

Secretary of State before election Robert C. Zimmerman Republican Elected Secretary of State Robert C. Zimmerman Republican

Secretary of State Democratic primary

1958 Wisconsin Secretary of State Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jerome J. Reinke	101,738	44.15
	Democratic	William H. Evans	90,053	39.07
	Democratic	William W. Groenert	38,672	16.78
Majority			11,685	5.07
Total votes			230,463	100

Secretary of State Republican primary

1958 Wisconsin Secretary of State Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert C. Zimmerman (incumbent)	233,133	100
Total votes			233,133	100

Secretary of State general election

1958 Wisconsin Secretary of State election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Robert C. Zimmerman (incumbent)	604,177	51.60
	Democratic	Jerome J. Reinke	566,606	48.40
Majority			37,571	3.21
Total votes			1,170,783	100
	Republican hold		Swing

Treasurer

1958 Wisconsin State Treasurer election

November 4, 1958

Candidate Eugene M. Lamb Dena A. Smith Party Democratic Republican Popular vote Percentage  % %

Treasurer before election Dena A. Smith Republican Elected Treasurer Eugene M. Lamb Democratic

State Treasurer Democratic primary

1958 Wisconsin State Treasurer Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Eugene M. Lamb	135,487
	Democratic	Palmer F. Daugs	87,901
Majority			47586
Total votes			223,388	100

State Treasurer Republican primary

1958 Wisconsin State Treasurer Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dena A. Smith (incumbent)	223,906	100
Total votes			223,906	100

State Treasurer general election

1958 Wisconsin State Treasurer election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic
	Republican
Majority
Total votes				100
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

State legislature

State Senate

Main article: 1958 Wisconsin Senate election

A portion of the seats in the Wisconsin Senate were contested. Republicans retained their majority after the election, with 20 of the body's 33 seats. Democrats held 12 seats, while 1 seat remained vacant.

State Assembly

Main article: 1958 Wisconsin State Assembly election

Democrats flipped control of the State Assembly, winning 55 of 100 seats (with Republicans winning the remaining 45).

State judiciary

Supreme Court

Main article: 1958 Wisconsin Supreme Court election

1958 Wisconsin Supreme Court election

April 1, 1958

Candidate William H. Dieterich Emmert L. Wingert Popular vote 232,955 211,319 Percentage 52.43% 47.57%

Justice before election Emmert L. Wingert Elected Justice William H. Dieterich

Circuit courts

Elections were held for circuit court judgeships.

County offices

Spring elections for county offices

Spring elections included some non-partisan races for county offices.

Fall elections for county offices

In the fall elections, partisan races for county office contested between the two major parties largely paralleled the national and statewide trend of strong Democratic Party gains and a decline in Republican vote totals.

La Crosse county offices

In La Crosse County, all countywide offices saw Republican incumbents run un-opposed. This resulted in a re-election of all Republican incumbents. However, the incumbents saw their vote totals reduced because an increased proportion of voters in the county marked the Democratic Party straight ticket box on their ballots and undervoted in the unopposed county office races which lacked Democratic nominees (as opposed to marking their ballots to additionally endorse the unopposed Republicans in addition to the Democratic straight-ticket option).

Municipal offices

Mayoralties

Spring mayoral elections

A large number of incumbent mayors lost re-election during the spring election held on April 1. This included two sixth-term incumbents (Robert L. Roemer of Appleton and Frank Dumbeck of Oconomowoc).

City	County	Winning candidate			Other candidate(s)			Notes	Cite
		Name	Votes	%	Name	Votes	%
Appleton	Outagamie	Clarence A. Mitchell	6,853		Robert L. Roemer (incumbent)	5,548		Incumbent defeated. Mitchell (a city alderman) unseated Roemer (who was seeking what would have been a seventh term)
Ashland	Ashland	Harry Simon			Mark Movrich (incumbent)			Incumbent defeated
Brodhead	Green	C. O. Synstegard (incumbent)			Frank Mauermann			Incumbent re-elected against a former mayor; re-match of the 1956 election (in which Synstegard had unseated Mauermann)
Edgerton	Rock	Arnold Wickum			Norman Yeske (incumbent)			Incumbent defeated
Elkhorn	Walworth	V. M. Gunyon (incumbent)			Robert Leheman			Incumbent re-elected to a third term over Robert Lehman( a lawyer) in a re-match of the 1956 election (in which he had also defeated Lehman)
Jefferson	Jefferson	Robert C. Hearne			Carl J. Mueller (incumbent)			Incumbent defeated; Hearne (a first time candidate for office) unseated the first-term incumbent mayor
Kenosha	Kenosha	Eugene Hammond	12,524		Richard Lindgre	11,307		first mayoral election to be held in Kenosha in 36 years (city was reverting back to a mayoral form of governance after having had 35 years of council-manager governance); was considered a close race
Ladysmith	Rusk	Charles Zimmerman						Zimmerman defeated three opponents
Marshfield	Wood	Irvin W. Wendt						Wendt defeated two opponents
Menasha	Winnebago	R. G. Ducharme (incumbent)			John Scanlon			Incumbent re-elected to a second term, defeating former mayor Scanlon
Monroe	Green	Victoria Schiller			Frank Mauermann			Schiller (a member of the Green County Board) defeated the incumbent
Neenah	Winnebago	Chester Bell			George E. Sande (incumbent)			Incumbent defeated; Bell (a retired school superintendent) defeated incumbent Sande
Oconomowoc	Waukesha	J. Alan Humphrey			Frank Dumbeck (incumbent)			Incumbent defeated; Humphrey (a first-time candidate for office) incumbent Dumbeck (who was seeking what would have been a seventh term)
Plymouth	Sheboygan	William P. Wagner			Earl W. Hirsch			Wagner (an auto dealer) defeated Hirsch (a canning firm field man). Incumbent mayor Howard Fischer did not run for re-election.
St. Francis	Milwaukee	Paul H. Rainer			Paul H. Rainer (incumbent)			Incumbent defeated
Sparta	Monroe	Joe Larson						Larson won a four-candidate race for mayor. Incumbent mayor Otis Erickson did not seek re-election
Tomah	Monroe	Elwin McKean			Peter Favre			McKean (a retired school superintendent) defeated Favre (the incumbent city council president). Incumbent mayor Lawrence Curry did not seek re-election.

City councils

Spring city council elections

Green Bay: https://www.newspapers.com/image/188298467/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/188298490

Other municipal elections

Municipal ballot measures

Spring general election municipal measures

Water fluoridation referendums

Further information: Water fluoridation in the United States

• Nekoosa: referendum to fluoridate the municipal water supply was approved, receiving 590 votes in favor (71.60%) and 235 votes against (28.52%)
• Platteville: referendum to fluoridate the municipal water supply was defeated, receiving 607 votes in favor (40.77%) and 882 votes against (59.23%)

Municipal government reform propositions

• Chilton: a proposition to make the office of city accessor an appointed (rather than elected) office was defeated, with 79 votes cast in support (21.07%) and 296 votes cast against (78.93%)
• Columbus:
• Edgerton: a proposition to switch from a council–manager government to a mayor-council system was defeated, with 328 votes cast in support of a switch (27.77%) and 853 votes cast against (72.23%)
• Lake Geneva: a proposition to switch from a council–manager government to a mayor-council systemwas defeated, with 698 votes cast in support a switch (41.80%) and 972 votes cast against (58.20%)
• Preble: https://www.newspapers.com/image/188298467/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/188298490
• Superior: a proposition to switch from a council–manager government to a mayor-council system was approved, with 5,075 votes being cast in support (51.17%) and 4,843 votes being cast against (48.83%).

Propositions to repeal dry laws

• Richland Center:
• Viroqua:

Construction-related propositions

• Benton:
• Green Bay: plant site https://www.newspapers.com/image/188298490
• Mineral Point:

See also

• 1958 United States elections

References

Wisconsin Category:Wisconsin State Legislature elections Category:Local elections in Wisconsin Wisconsin