The 1869 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held in the 22nd Wisconsin Legislature on January 27, 1869. Incumbent Republican U.S. senator James R. Doolittle did not run for re-election. Prominent attorney Matthew H. Carpenter was elected United States senator on the first ballot.[1]
At the start of the 1869 term, Republicans held substantial majorities in both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, so had more than enough votes to elect a Republican United States senator. The main drama of the election was in the Republican legislative caucuses as they parsed through Republican candidates and selected the prominent attorney, Matthew H. Carpenter, as their nominee.
