Chester E. Dempsey (July 20, 1896 – October 4, 1969) was an American farmer and politician. Born in the town of

Merton, Wisconsin Merton is a town in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States; before Wisconsin statehood, it was called Warren. The population was 7,988 at the 2000 census. The town surrounds the villages of Chenequa and Merton. The unincorporated communities ...

, Dempsey owned and operated a dairy farm. He served on the

Waukesha County, Wisconsin Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha C ...

Board of Supervisors and in town government. He served in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after ...

as a Democrat from 1935-1939, but was defeated in 1938 by Republican

William A. Freehoff William Adolph Freehoff (December 27, 1889January 22, 1950) was an American farmer, insurance executive, and Republican politician. He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate (1939–1947) and State Assembly (1921–1925), representing Wa ...

. He left the Democratic Party in 1940, stating that he was against a third term and that as a farmer, "The Republican party is the only party left for me to join." He ran against Freehoff in the 1942

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

, losing with 4,260 votes to 4,575 for Freehoff and 1020 for a third candidate. In 1946, he defeated Freehoff in the primary, with 10,075 votes to 8,798. He won the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, and would serve as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

from 1947 until his death on October 4, 1969.WISCONSIN SESSION LAWS VOLUME I
/ref> He was succeeded by fellow Republican

Roger P. Murphy Roger P. Murphy (October 17, 1923 – July 11, 2009) was an American jurist and politician. Born in Lancaster, Wisconsin, Murphy graduated from University of Wisconsin–Madison and received his law degree from University of Wisconsin Law ...

Notes

1896 births 1969 deaths People from Merton, Wisconsin Farmers from Wisconsin County supervisors in Wisconsin Republican Party Wisconsin state senators 20th-century American politicians {{Wisconsin-WISenate-stub