The 1938 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1938. Incumbent Progressive

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Philip La Follette Philip Fox La Follette (May 8, 1897August 18, 1965) was an American politician who served during the 1930s as the 27th and 29th governor of Wisconsin. La Follette first served as a Republican from 1931 until 1933, where he lost renomination in ...

was defeated by Republican nominee Julius P. Heil.

Primary elections Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

were held on September 20, 1938.

Background

The 1937 special session

Despite having a high initial popularity, La Follette's reputation had begun to deteriorate as his governorship ran its course. This all culminated in the disastrous 1937 special session, where La Follette attempted to force through a bill without public debate, and without the normal machinery of the legislative process. The bill, decried by critics as dictatorial, would have, among other things, fundamentally altered the system of checks and balances in Wisconsin by making it so that legislation would be written up by the executive and handed to the legislature to either approve or reject. Alongside this, the session passed through legislation reorganizing the state executive branch to remove redundant agencies to improve efficiency. This had been one of the final blows for the establishment, who had begun to talk of electoral fusion to defeat La Follette.

Coalition talks

At Oshkosh, a committee was established by members of the Democratic, Republican, Union, and Progressive parties in the hope of defeating La Follette. In their goals they aligned with

Robert Kirkland Henry Robert Kirkland Henry (February 9, 1890 – November 20, 1946) was a banker and politician from Wisconsin. As a Democrat, he served as Wisconsin State Treasurer. As a Republican, he served in the United States House of Representatives. B ...

, the former Democratic state treasurer, in that goal. Despite the bipartisan nature of this committee, it was still done in opposition to the leadership of both parties. Due to the nature of the primary system in Wisconsin, one candidate could not officially run under multiple party lines, so instead, the candidate would be required to give up one party to run under another, to the coalition hopefuls, that meant the party their candidate got the least votes in. Henry stood for both the Democratic and Republican nominations as part of a coalition movement designed to defeat

and the Progressive Party. If he had won both nominations, he intended to decline the nomination of the party in whose primary he received fewest votes.

Progressive primary

Candidates

Nominee

, incumbent

Eliminated in primary

* Glenn P. Turner, Socialist nominee for

Attorney General of Wisconsin The attorney general of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of Wisconsin, government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Forty-five individuals have held the office of attorney general since statehood. The ...

in 1930 and 1934

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

* Julius P. Heil, industrialist

Eliminated in primary

, former Democratic Wisconsin State Treasurer (1933–1937) *Clun L. Miller, insurance counsellor *James G. Peterson, farmer

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

, former Wisconsin State Treasurer (1933–1937) ''(withdrew)''

Eliminated in primary

* Jerome F. Fox, former

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

from Calumet (1931–1935) *Edward Ihlenfeldt, unsuccessful candidate for Democratic nomination for

Secretary of State of Wisconsin A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

in 1934

Results

Aftermath

Henry won the Democratic nomination but lost the Republican nomination to Julius P. Heil. On October 1, 1938, Henry withdrew from the election in favour of Heil. On October 7, 1938, the Democratic state central committee met and nominated

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Harry W. Bolens, another proponent of a coalition, to replace Henry on the Democratic ticket.

Union primary

Nominee

*Frank W. Smith

Results

General election

Candidates

Major party candidates * Harry W. Bolens, Democratic * Julius P. Heil, Republican *

, Progressive Other candidates *John Schleier Jr., (Independent) Socialist Labor *Frank W. Smith, Union

Results

Results by county

Iron County voted for the losing candidate for the first time in this election. Adams County, Burnett County, Jackson County, and Washburn County all voted for the losing candidate for the first time since

1892 In Samoa, this was the only leap year spanned to 367 days as July 4 repeated. This means that the International Date Line was drawn from the east of the country to go west. Events January * January 1 – Ellis Island begins processing imm ...

Counties that flipped from Progressive to Republican

* Barron *

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

* Buffalo * Calumet *

Clark Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...

* Columbia * Crawford *

Door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...

* Dunn *

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 ...

* Grant *

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

* Jefferson *

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 census. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Ke ...

* Kewaunee *

La Crosse La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 20 ...

* Lafayette * Langlade *

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

* Manitowoc *

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), 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 ...

* Marinette *

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

* Oconto *

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida N ...

* Outagamie * Ozaukee * Pepin * Pierce *

Portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) 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 A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a ph ...

* Racine *

Rusk A rusk is a hard, dry Biscuit#Biscuits in British usage, biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the ...

* Sauk *

Sawyer *A sawyer (occupation) is someone who saws wood. Places in the United States Communities * Sawyer, Kansas * Sawyer, Kentucky * Sawyer, Michigan * Sawyer, Minnesota * Sawyer, Nebraska * Sawyer, New York * Sawyer, North Dakota * Sawyer, Oklahoma ...

* Shawano * St. Croix * Trempealeau * Vernon * Vilas *

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

* Waukesha * Waupaca *

Wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

* Sheboygan

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * {{1938 United States elections

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

November 1938 in the United States