1891 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

For related races, see 1890–91 United States Senate elections.

1891 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

← 1885 January 28, 1891 1897 →

Nominee William F. Vilas John C. Spooner Party Democratic Republican Legislative vote 82 45 Percentage 64.57% 35.43%

U.S. senator before election John C. Spooner Republican Elected U.S. Senator William F. Vilas Democratic

The 1891 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held in the 40th Wisconsin Legislature on January 28, 1891. Incumbent Republican U.S. senator John C. Spooner ran for a second term, but lost the election to former U.S. postmaster general and U.S. secretary of the interior William F. Vilas.^[1][2]

In the 1891 term, Democrats held significant majorities in both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, so had more than enough votes to elect a Democratic United States senator. This was the first time the Democrats were able to elect a U.S. Senator in Wisconsin since the election of Henry Dodge in 1851.

Major candidates

Democratic

• William F. Vilas, former U.S. postmaster general and former U.S. secretary of the interior.

Republican

• John Coit Spooner, incumbent U.S. senator.

Results

1st Vote of the 40th Wisconsin Legislature, January 28, 1891^[1][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William F. Vilas	82	64.57%
	Republican	John Coit Spooner (incumbent)	45	35.43%
		Absent or not voting	6
Majority			64	50.39%
Total votes			127	95.49%
	Democratic gain from Republican

References

1. "January 28, 1891". State of Wisconsin Assembly Journal (Report). Wisconsin Legislature. 1891. pp. 79, 80, 87. Retrieved March 19, 2025 – via HathiTrust.
2. "January 27, 1891". State of Wisconsin Senate Journal (Report). Wisconsin Legislature. 1891. pp. 42–43. Retrieved March 19, 2025 – via HathiTrust.