1909 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

For related races, see 1908–09 United States Senate elections.

The 1909 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held in the 49th Wisconsin Legislature between January 27, 1909, and March 4, 1909. Incumbent Republican U.S. senator Isaac Stephenson was ultimately re-elected on the 23rd ballot after more than a month of voting and negotiation.^[1]

1909 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

← 1907 (special) January 27, 1909 – March 4, 1909 1914 →

Nominee Isaac Stephenson Neal Brown others Party Republican Democratic Legislative vote 63 7 53 Percentage 51.22% 5.69% 43.09%

U.S. senator before election Isaac Stephenson Republican Elected U.S. Senator Isaac Stephenson Republican

In the 1909 term, Republicans held overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, so had more than enough votes to elect a Republican United States senator. However, this was the first U.S. Senate election in Wisconsin after the passage of the state law which established primary elections for determining party nominees. This led to considerable turmoil in the legislative joint session, as the winner of the Republican primary (Stephenson) lacked majority support in the Republican caucus and received only 31% of the primary vote. The issue was exacerbated by allegations that Stephenson had committed campaign finance violations during the primary.

Both chambers initially voted on January 26 in sufficient numbers to re-elect Stephenson, but at the joint session on January 27, the presiding officer, Lieutenant Governor John Strange, ignored a motion to read the results and pronounce Stephenson elected, and instead moved to a new vote for U.S. senator. Stephenson fell short in that vote, and the stalemate dragged out for more than a month as various factions attempted to coalesce around an alternative. March 4, 1909—the scheduled start of the next U.S. Senate term—was the effective deadline for the Legislature to act, as Stephenson already planned to assert his right to be seated as U.S. senator based on the initial January 26 votes. With the Legislature unable to reach a majority for any alternative candidate, Stephenson was ultimately re-elected by a bare majority on March 4, with more than 40 members casting protest votes for random colleagues and neighbors.

Democratic primary

On the ballot

• Neal Brown, prominent lawyer and former state legislator from Wausau, Wisconsin.
• Melvin A. Hoyt, editor of the Milwaukee Daily News.

Primary result

Democratic Primary, September 1, 1908^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Neal Brown	24,944	66.71%
	Democratic	Melvin A. Hoyt	12,228	32.70%
		Scattering	218	0.58%
Plurality			12,716	34.01%
Total votes			37,390	100.0%

Republican primary

On the ballot

• Samuel A. Cook, former U.S. representative and prominent state leader in the Grand Army of the Republic from Neenah, Wisconsin.
• William H. Hatten, lumber millionaire and former state senator from Outagamie County, Wisconsin.
• Francis E. McGovern, incumbent district attorney of Milwaukee County.
• Isaac Stephenson, incumbent U.S. senator, former U.S. representative of Wisconsin's 9th congressional district, from Marinette, Wisconsin.

Primary result

Republican Primary, September 1, 1908^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Isaac Stephenson (incumbent)	56,839	31.04%
	Republican	Samuel A. Cook	47,944	26.19%
	Republican	Francis E. McGovern	42,631	23.28%
	Republican	William H. Hatten	35,621	19.46%
		Scattering	54	0.58%
Plurality			8,895	4.86%
Total votes			183,089	100.0%

Other candidates with significant caucus support

• Henry Allen Cooper, incumbent U.S. representative of Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, from Racine County.
• John J. Esch, incumbent U.S. representative of Wisconsin's 7th congressional district, from La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Socialist primary

On the ballot

• Jacob Rummel, former state senator from Milwaukee.

Primary result

Socialist Primary, September 1, 1908^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Socialist	Jacob Rummel	4,047	99.19%
		Scattering	33	0.81%
Total votes			4,080	100.0%

Prohibition primary

On the ballot

• Isaac Stephenson, incumbent U.S. senator, former U.S. representative of Wisconsin's 9th congressional district, from Marinette, Wisconsin.

Primary result

Prohibition Primary, September 1, 1908^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Isaac Stephenson (incumbent)	79	24.01%
		Scattering	250	75.99%
Total votes			329	100.0%

Election

Events of January 27, 1909

Pursuant to federal law, each chamber of the legislature voted separately on their choice for U.S. senator on January 26, prior to meeting in joint session on January 27 to conduct the election. The law stipulated that if a candidate received a majority of those initial votes—as Stephenson did in this case—he "shall be declared duly elected senator." The record of those votes was not initially admitted in the joint session, but a motion by state senator George Hudnall read those results into the record and called for the president of the joint session to declare that Stephenson had been elected. The president of the joint session, Lieutenant Governor John Strange, ignored Hudnall's motion and instead proceeded to a new vote in the joint session. Stephenson failed to reach a majority in the formal vote of the joint session.^[3]

Initial Votes of the 49th Wisconsin Legislature, January 26, 1909^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Isaac Stephenson (incumbent)	72	71.29%
	Democratic	Neal Brown	20	19.80%
	Socialist	Jacob Rummel	4	3.96%
	Republican	Samuel A. Cook	2	1.98%
	Republican	Henry Allen Cooper	1	0.99%
	Republican	John J. Esch	1	0.99%
	Republican	James Huff Stout	1	0.99%
		Null vote	32
		Absent	1
Majority			51	50.50%
Total votes			101	75.94%
Void election result

1st Vote of the 49th Wisconsin Legislature, January 27, 1909^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Isaac Stephenson (incumbent)	65	49.62%	7
	Democratic	Neal Brown	21	16.03%	1
	Republican	Henry Allen Cooper	11	8.40%	10
	Republican	John J. Esch	7	5.34%	6
	Republican	Samuel A. Cook	4	3.05%	2
	Socialist	Jacob Rummel	4	3.05%
	Republican	Walter C. Owen	3	2.29%
	Republican	James H. Davidson	2	1.53%
	Republican	William D. Hoard	2	1.53%
	Republican	James Huff Stout	2	1.53%	1
	Republican	Levi H. Bancroft	1	0.76%
	Republican	M. J. Cleary	1	0.76%
	Republican	John S. Donald	1	0.76%
	Republican	E. A. Edmunds	1	0.76%
	Republican	Charles E. Estabrook	1	0.76%
	Republican	Irvine Lenroot	1	0.76%
	Republican	Henry Lockney	1	0.76%
	Republican	Francis E. McGovern	1	0.76%
	Republican	John Strange	1	0.76%
	Republican	Charles M. Webb	1	0.76%
		Absent or not voting	2
Majority			66	50.38%
Total votes			131	98.50%	30
Void election result

Vote on March 4, 1909

The legislature re-convened in joint session on March 4.^[1]

23rd Vote of the 49th Wisconsin Legislature, March 4, 1909^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Isaac Stephenson (incumbent)	63	51.22%
	Democratic	Neal Brown	7	5.69%
	Republican	John J. Esch	7[a]	5.69%
	Republican	Henry Allen Cooper	5[b]	4.07%
	Republican	Charles E. Estabrook	4	3.25%
	Socialist	Jacob Rummel	4[c]	3.25%
	Republican	John Strange	4	3.25%
	Democratic	George W. Kindlin	3	2.44%
	Democratic	M. W. Kalaher	2[d]	1.63%
	Republican	Albert W. Sanborn	2[e]	1.63%
	Republican	Levi H. Bancroft	1	0.81%
	Republican	Sherburn M. Becker	1	0.81%
	Democratic	William J. Bichler	1[f]	0.81%
	Republican	M. J. Cleary	1	0.81%
	Republican	Samuel A. Cook	1	0.81%
	Republican	John S. Donald	1	0.81%
	Republican	William D. Hoard	1	0.81%
	Republican	Gustav R. Hoffman	1[g]	0.81%
	Democratic	Melvin A. Hoyt	1[h]	0.81%
	Democratic	John F. Hughes	1[i]	0.81%
	Democratic	Paul O. Husting	1[j]	0.81%
	Democratic	D. M. Kelly	1[k]	0.81%
	Republican	Edwin Kull	1[l]	0.81%
	Republican	Irvine Lenroot	1[m]	0.81%
	Republican	Henry Lockney	1[n]	0.81%
	Republican	John E. McConnell	1[o]	0.81%
	Republican	Francis E. McGovern	1[p]	0.81%
	Republican	Elmer A. Morse	1[q]	0.81%
	Republican	Charles Neitzel	1[r]	0.81%
	Republican	Walter C. Owen	1[s]	0.81%
	Republican	C. K. Reichert	1[t]	0.81%
	Republican	Charles M. Webb	1[u]	0.81%
		Absent or not voting	10
Majority			62	50.41%
Total votes			123	92.48%
	Republican hold

Notes

1. On the final ballot, Esch received the votes of Republican senators John J. Blaine, Theodore W. Brazeau, and Spencer M. Marsh, and Republican representatives Charles M. Bradford, George E. Hoyt, H. J. Mortensen, and Simon F. Wehrwein.
2. On the final ballot, Cooper received the votes of Republican senators Isaac T. Bishop and Harry C. Martin and Republican representatives Walker M. Curtiss, John H. Kamper, and Allen Wells.
3. On the final ballot, Rummel received the votes of all the Socialists.
4. On the final ballot, Democratic representatives George W. Kindlin and Henry V. Schwalbach voted for Kalaher.
5. On the final ballot, Republican representatives D. C. Coolidge and John E. McConnell voted for Sanborn.
6. On the final ballot, Democratic representative Paul O. Husting voted for Bichler.
7. On the final ballot, Republican representative Peter F. Leuch voted for Gustav R. Hoffman.
8. On the final ballot, Democratic representative William J. Bichler voted for Melvin Hoyt.
9. On the final ballot, Democratic representative Charles Lentz voted for Hughes.
10. On the final ballot, Democratic senator Charles L. Pearson voted for Husting.
11. On the final ballot, Democratic representative Virgil H. Cady voted for D. M. Kelly.
12. On the final ballot, Republican representative Clinton B. Ballard voted for Kull.
13. On the final ballot, Republican representative Axel Johnson voted for Lenroot.
14. On the final ballot, Republican senator Walter C. Owen voted for Lockney.
15. On the final ballot, Republican senator Thomas Morris voted for John McConnell.
16. On the final ballot, Republican representative Henry Edgar Roethe voted for McGovern.
17. On the final ballot, Republican representative Albert W. Sanborn voted for Morse.
18. On the final ballot, Republican representative James R. Barnett voted for Neitzel.
19. On the final ballot, Republican senator Henry Lockney voted for Walter Owen.
20. On the final ballot, Republican representative Carl H. Dorner voted for C. K. Reichert.
21. On the final ballot, Republican representative Emil Keup voted for Webb.