1926 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

1926 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

← 1924 November 2, 1926 1928 →

Nominee Fred R. Zimmerman Charles B. Perry Party Republican Independent Popular vote 350,927 76,507 Percentage 63.47% 13.84%   Nominee Virgil H. Cady Herman O. Kent Party Democratic Socialist Popular vote 72,627 40,293 Percentage 13.14% 7.29%

County results Zimmerman:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Cady:      40–50%

Governor before election John J. Blaine Republican Elected Governor Fred R. Zimmerman Republican

The 1926 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1926. Primary elections were held on September 7, 1926.

Incumbent Republican Governor John J. Blaine retired to run for the U.S. Senate. Republican nominee Fred R. Zimmerman defeated Independent Charles B. Perry, Democratic nominee Virgil H. Cady and Socialist nominee Herman O. Kent.

Primary election

Republican party

Candidates

• Herman L. Ekern, incumbent Attorney General of Wisconsin
• Charles B. Perry, incumbent member of the Wisconsin State Assembly (ran as independent in general)
• W. Stanley Smith, former Commissioner of Insurance^[1][2]
• Fred R. Zimmerman, incumbent Secretary of State of Wisconsin

Results

Republican primary results^[3][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Fred R. Zimmerman	215,546	46.77%
	Republican	Herman L. Ekern	178,252	38.68%
	Republican	Charles B. Perry	41,856	9.08%
	Republican	W. Stanley Smith	25,188	5.47%
Total votes			460,842	100.00%

Democratic party

Candidates

• Virgil H. Cady, Democratic nominee for Wisconsin's 7th congressional district in 1914

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Virgil H. Cady	16,358	100.00%
Total votes			16,358	100.00%

Socialist party

Candidates

• Herman O. Kent, former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly

Results

Socialist primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Socialist	Herman O. Kent	11,307	100.00%
Total votes			11,307	100.00%

Prohibition party

Candidates

• Adolph R. Bucknam, Prohibition nominee for U.S. Senate in 1922 and for Governor in 1924
• David W. Emerson, Prohibition nominee for Governor in 1914
• Alex McEathron, Prohibition nominee for Wisconsin's 9th congressional district in 1910

Results

Prohibition primary results^[3][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Prohibition	David W. Emerson	576	39.21%
	Prohibition	Adolph R. Bucknam	546	37.17%
	Prohibition	Alex McEathron	347	23.62%
Total votes			1,469	100.00%

Other party nominations

• Alex Gorden, Socialist Labor
• Charles B. Perry, Independent, incumbent member of the Wisconsin State Assembly

General election

Results

1926 Wisconsin gubernatorial election^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Fred R. Zimmerman	350,927	63.47%	+11.71%
	Independent	Charles B. Perry	76,507	13.84%
	Democratic	Virgil H. Cady	72,627	13.14%	−26.74%
	Socialist	Herman O. Kent	40,293	7.29%	+1.60%
	Prohibition	David W. Emerson	7,333	1.33%	−0.12%
	Socialist Labor[a]	Alex Gorden	4,593	0.83%	+0.65%
		Scattering	632	0.11%
Majority			274,420	49.63%
Total votes			552,912	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing	+37.74%

Results by county

County[6][7]	Fred R. Zimmerman Republican		Charles B. Perry Independent		Virgil H. Cady Democratic		Herman O. Kent Socialist		All Others Various		Margin[b]		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adams	743	68.17%	98	8.99%	155	14.22%	54	4.95%	40	3.67%	588[c]	53.94%	1,090
Ashland	2,970	64.43%	907	19.67%	390	8.46%	160	3.47%	183	3.97%	2,063	44.75%	4,610
Barron	4,577	74.36%	704	11.44%	356	5.78%	261	4.24%	257	4.18%	3,873	62.92%	6,155
Bayfield	2,193	82.79%	167	6.30%	102	3.85%	83	3.13%	104	3.93%	2,026	76.48%	2,649
Brown	7,757	54.73%	1,267	8.94%	4,093	28.88%	780	5.50%	276	1.95%	3,664[c]	25.85%	14,173
Buffalo	1,581	75.97%	182	8.75%	158	7.59%	97	4.66%	63	3.03%	1,399	67.23%	2,081
Burnett	1,591	85.31%	87	4.66%	52	2.79%	46	2.47%	89	4.77%	1,504	50.64%	1,865
Calumet	1,817	53.87%	263	7.80%	1,182	35.04%	59	1.75%	52	1.54%	635[c]	18.83%	3,373
Chippewa	5,874	71.35%	1,309	15.90%	590	7.17%	117	1.42%	343	4.17%	4,565	55.45%	8,233
Clark	5,778	76.87%	884	11.76%	479	6.37%	153	2.04%	223	2.97%	4,894	65.11%	7,517
Columbia	5,075	70.55%	824	11.46%	1,006	13.99%	138	1.92%	150	2.09%	4,069[c]	56.57%	7,193
Crawford	2,081	63.10%	283	8.58%	805	24.41%	45	1.36%	84	2.55%	1,276[c]	38.69%	3,298
Dane	13,215	58.88%	5,029	22.41%	2,427	10.81%	1,029	4.58%	745	3.32%	8,186	36.47%	22,445
Dodge	6,420	55.53%	934	8.08%	3,588	31.03%	467	4.04%	153	1.32%	2,832[c]	24.49%	11,562
Door	2,234	66.57%	861	25.66%	120	3.58%	33	0.98%	108	3.22%	1,373	40.91%	3,356
Douglas	8,852	83.92%	789	7.48%	385	3.65%	208	1.97%	314	2.98%	8,063	76.44%	10,548
Dunn	4,371	79.68%	643	11.72%	204	3.72%	127	2.31%	141	2.57%	3,728	67.95%	5,486
Eau Claire	5,355	68.11%	1,789	22.76%	391	4.97%	107	1.36%	220	2.80%	3,566	45.36%	7,862
Florence	1,004	89.01%	67	5.94%	23	2.04%	9	0.80%	25	2.22%	937	83.07%	1,128
Fond du Lac	8,270	66.22%	1,250	10.01%	2,558	20.48%	185	1.48%	226	1.81%	5,712[c]	45.74%	12,489
Forest	1,571	74.88%	180	8.58%	275	13.11%	23	1.10%	49	2.34%	1,296[c]	61.77%	2,098
Grant	6,469	69.55%	1,284	13.80%	1,208	12.99%	120	1.29%	220	2.37%	5,185	55.75%	9,301
Green	3,253	77.34%	475	11.29%	291	6.92%	70	1.66%	117	2.78%	2,778	66.05%	4,206
Green Lake	2,725	71.07%	477	12.44%	499	13.02%	27	0.70%	106	2.76%	2,226[c]	58.06%	3,834
Iowa	3,178	62.68%	1,304	25.72%	359	7.08%	84	1.66%	145	2.86%	1,874	36.96%	5,070
Iron	1,724	82.77%	196	9.41%	57	2.74%	43	2.06%	63	3.02%	1,528	73.36%	2,083
Jackson	2,424	81.45%	270	9.07%	106	3.56%	84	2.82%	92	3.09%	2,154	72.38%	2,976
Jefferson	6,088	69.55%	913	10.43%	1,415	16.16%	139	1.59%	199	2.27%	4,673[c]	53.38%	8,754
Juneau	3,168	76.54%	428	10.34%	396	9.57%	73	1.76%	74	1.79%	2,740	66.20%	4,139
Kenosha	9,212	65.84%	597	4.27%	3,567	25.49%	304	2.17%	312	2.23%	5,645[c]	40.34%	13,992
Kewaunee	1,484	57.83%	478	18.63%	435	16.95%	112	4.36%	57	2.22%	1,006	39.20%	2,556
La Crosse	7,268	70.51%	1,092	10.59%	1,627	15.78%	96	0.93%	225	2.18%	5,641[c]	54.72%	10,308
Lafayette	3,659	67.04%	493	9.03%	1,159	21.23%	67	1.23%	80	1.47%	2,500[c]	45.80%	5,458
Langlade	3,504	60.68%	314	5.44%	1,685	29.18%	93	1.61%	179	3.10%	1,819[c]	31.50%	5,775
Lincoln	2,666	59.88%	1,250	28.08%	306	6.87%	93	2.09%	137	3.08%	1,416	31.81%	4,452
Manitowoc	6,588	62.45%	1,420	13.46%	2,111	20.01%	245	2.32%	186	1.76%	4,477[c]	42.44%	10,550
Marathon	9,437	74.17%	1,156	9.09%	798	6.27%	985	7.74%	348	2.73%	8,281	65.08%	12,724
Marinette	4,831	77.79%	640	10.31%	447	7.20%	96	1.55%	196	3.16%	4,191	67.49%	6,210
Marquette	1,413	68.79%	159	7.74%	432	21.03%	15	0.73%	35	1.70%	981[c]	47.76%	2,054
Milwaukee	43,948	43.99%	15,411	15.43%	12,386	12.40%	27,250	27.28%	910	0.91%	16,698[d]	16.71%	99,905
Monroe	3,221	69.96%	706	15.33%	325	7.06%	141	3.06%	211	4.58%	2,515	54.63%	4,604
Oconto	3,379	60.23%	1,391	24.80%	698	12.44%	66	1.18%	76	1.35%	1,988	35.44%	5,610
Oneida	2,702	72.75%	400	10.77%	369	9.94%	134	3.61%	109	2.93%	2,302	61.98%	3,714
Outagamie	9,105	69.10%	2,049	15.55%	1,444	10.96%	234	1.78%	344	2.61%	7,056	53.55%	13,176
Ozaukee	1,484	39.97%	462	12.44%	1,608	43.31%	78	2.10%	81	2.18%	-124[e]	-3.34%	3,713
Pepin	1,024	63.92%	250	15.61%	214	13.36%	54	3.37%	60	3.75%	774	48.31%	1,602
Pierce	4,132	76.01%	569	10.47%	205	3.77%	359	6.60%	171	3.15%	3,563	65.54%	5,436
Polk	3,349	77.25%	437	10.08%	204	4.71%	124	2.86%	221	5.10%	2,912	67.17%	4,335
Portage	3,869	46.97%	497	6.03%	3,685	44.73%	57	0.69%	130	1.58%	184[c]	2.23%	8,238
Price	3,012	76.72%	518	13.19%	194	4.94%	95	2.42%	107	2.73%	2,494	63.53%	3,926
Racine	12,958	70.63%	2,908	15.85%	1,473	8.03%	486	2.65%	521	2.84%	10,050	54.78%	18,346
Richland	3,634	74.51%	483	9.90%	549	11.26%	39	0.80%	172	3.53%	3,085[c]	63.26%	4,877
Rock	10,697	80.67%	1,537	11.59%	641	4.83%	155	1.17%	230	1.73%	9,160	69.08%	13,260
Rusk	2,407	69.87%	658	19.10%	157	4.56%	84	2.44%	139	4.03%	1,749	50.77%	3,445
Sauk	4,117	61.26%	677	10.07%	1,553	23.11%	179	2.66%	195	2.90%	2,564[c]	38.15%	6,721
Sawyer	1,177	78.26%	153	10.17%	85	5.65%	38	2.53%	51	3.39%	1,024	68.09%	1,504
Shawano	2,999	71.40%	406	9.67%	374	8.90%	318	7.57%	103	2.45%	2,593	61.74%	4,200
Sheboygan	5,141	42.55%	3,581	29.64%	1,902	15.74%	1,238	10.25%	220	1.82%	1,560	12.91%	12,082
St. Croix	3,958	65.71%	1,305	21.67%	372	6.18%	207	3.44%	181	3.01%	2,653	44.05%	6,023
Taylor	2,332	74.62%	396	12.67%	140	4.48%	190	6.08%	67	2.14%	1,936	61.95%	3,125
Trempealeau	3,961	73.95%	728	13.59%	432	8.07%	65	1.21%	170	3.17%	3,233	60.36%	5,356
Vernon	3,987	76.61%	618	11.88%	256	4.92%	161	3.09%	182	3.50%	3,369	64,74%	5,204
Vilas	907	83.90%	45	4.16%	61	5.64%	36	3.33%	32	2.96%	849[c]	78.26%	1,081
Walworth	5,691	77.28%	714	9.70%	636	8.64%	78	1.06%	245	3.33%	4,977	67.59%	7,364
Washburn	1,572	79.59%	211	10.68%	57	2.89%	76	3.85%	59	2.99%	1,361	68.91%	1,975
Washington	2,721	52.41%	519	10.00%	1,735	33.42%	156	3.00%	61	1.17%	986[c]	18.99%	5,192
Waukesha	6,277	63.83%	1,337	13.60%	1,730	17.59%	298	3.03%	192	1.95%	4,547[c]	46.24%	9,834
Waupaca	5,637	78.35%	905	12.58%	398	5.53%	112	1.56%	143	1.99%	4,732	65.77%	7,195
Waushara	2,972	82.26%	351	9.71%	172	4.76%	41	1.13%	77	2.13%	2,621	72.54%	3,613
Winnebago	10,048	64.72%	3,112	20.05%	1,642	10.58%	459	2.96%	264	1.70%	6,936	44.68%	15,525
Wood	6,089	67.15%	1,710	18.86%	693	7.64%	358	3.95%	218	2.40%	4,379	48.29%	9,068
Total	350,927	63.47%	76,507	13.84%	72,627	13.14%	40,293	7.29%	12,558	2.27%	274,420	49.63%	552,912

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Columbia
• Green Lake
• Jefferson
• Kenosha
• Marquette
• Pepin
• Portage
• Racine
• Richland
• Rock
• Walworth
• Washington
• Waukesha
• Winnebago

Notes

1. "Independent Socialist Labor"
2. The margins are Zimmerman over Perry unless otherwise noted
3. Zimmerman's margin over Cady
4. Zimmerman's margin over Kent
5. Cady's margin over Zimmerman

References

1. Jorge Gomez, Commissioner of Insurance, ed. (2005). Wisconsin Insurance Report, 2005 (PDF). Madison, Wisconsin: Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. p. 5.
2. "W. Stanley Smith In Attack On Candidates". The Sheboygan Press. Sheboygan, Wisconsin. July 24, 1926. p. 2. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
3. Holmes, Fred L., ed. (1927). "Summary of Vote For Governor - Primary, September 7, 1926". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1927. Madison, Wisconsin: Democrat Printing Company, State Printer. p. 494.
4. "WI Governor, 1926 - R Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
5. "WI Governor, 1926 - PRB Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
6. Wisconsin Historical Society, Statement of Board of State Canvassers - Election of State Officers - November 2, 1926
7. Holmes, Fred L., ed. (1927). "Summary Of Vote For Governor". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1927. Madison, Wisconsin: Democrat Printing Company, State Printer. p. 573.

Bibliography

• Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. ISBN 1-56802-396-0.
• Holmes, Fred L., ed. (1927). The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1927. Madison, Wisconsin: Democrat Printing Company, State Printer.