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| Elections in Wisconsin |
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The 1879 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held in the 32nd Wisconsin Legislature on January 22, 1879. Incumbent Republican U.S. senator Timothy O. Howe ran for a fourth six-year term, but was defeated for renomination. Former U.S. senator Matthew H. Carpenter—who had been ousted by a split in the party four years earlier—was elected United States senator on the 1st ballot.[1]
At the start of the 1879 term, Republicans held large 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 caucus, which dragged out for a week and went to 96 ballots as they failed to agree on a nominee. Republican party boss Elisha W. Keyes was seeking the U.S. Senate seat as a crowning achievement in his mastery of the Wisconsin Republican Party, but would require unseating his former ally, the incumbent U.S. senator Timothy Howe, who still had a large loyal following. Former U.S. senator Matt Carpenter, who had been ousted by a party rebellion in 1875 also had significant support in the caucus for his return to office.
After 96 failed votes, Keyes and Howe withdrew and endorsed Carpenter; Carpenter was then unanimously nominated less than an hour before the start of the joint session of the legislature. The Republican caucus was likely afraid of a repeat of the 1875 election, where a divided party had allowed the Democrats to effectively choose which Republican would become U.S. senator.
- ^ "January 22, 1879". In Assembly Journal of Proceedings of the Wisconsin Legislature (Report). Wisconsin Legislature. 1879. pp. 72–73. Retrieved March 8, 2025 – via HathiTrust.