Party Information
In How Wisconsin Voted, James R. Donoghue divided Wisconsin's political history into 4 eras. From statehood in 1848 until 1855, the Democratic Party was the dominant political party, and the Whig Party provided major opposition. This was a continuation of the party alignment that had prevailed during the state's territorial period.
The second era in Wisconsin's party history was one of Republican domination from 1856 to 1900. The birth of the national Republican Party is attributed to a meeting in Ripon, Wisconsin, in 1854. Its founding was based on the conditions and events that eventually led to the Civil War, and in Wisconsin these same circumstances contributed to the rapid growth of the Republican Party and the demise of the Whigs.
When the second era ended at the turn of the century with the election of Governor Robert M. LaFollette, Wisconsin politics entered a period of complexity and confusion. The third era, from 1900 to 1945, was a time of great stress and change, encompassing the Great Depression and World Wars I and II. Until the Progressive Party officially organized in 1934 with a separate ballot position, the major political battles usually occurred not between 2 parties, but between 2 factions of the Republican Party the conservative "stalwart" Republicans and the "progressive" (La Follette) Republicans. The Democratic Party was in eclipse, and election contests tended to be decided in Republican primary elections.
After some early success within the Republican Party, the progressive faction formally split from the Republicans to form its own party in 1934. The new Progressive Party won gubernatorial elections in 1936 and 1942. Declining popularity, however, led to its dissolution in 1946, and Progressive Party leadership urged its members and supporting voters to return to the Republican Party. The period 1900 to 1945 was also the time of greatest strength for the Socialists. This era saw the high point of third partyinfluence in Wisconsin.
The fourth era, from 1945 to the present, has been marked by a realignment and polarization of the major parties. A resurgence of the Democratic Party ended the long Republican domination, returning the state to a more balanced, 2-party, competitive system. In the late 1940s, some former Progressives, Socialists and others began moving into what has been described as a moribund Democratic Party. This influx both revitalized the party and made it more liberal. In the following decade, the Democrats worked at uniting the party and building their strength at the polls. Meanwhile, the conservative faction's control of the Republican Party was solidified by the departure of the more liberal-minded Progressives and the addition of conservative Democrats fleeing their former party as it became more liberal.
In the years following World War II, the resurgent Democratic Party began seriously challenging the majority Republicans. Steady Democratic growth culminated in the 1957 election of U.S. Senator William Proxmire, the first "new" Democrat to win a major statewide election. This turning point marked the emergence on Wisconsin's political scene of a Democratic Party fully capable of competing successfully with the long dominant Republicans for public office. During this period, third party and independent candidates usually failed to garner any significant support on a statewide level.
The hallmark of contemporary Wisconsin politics is a highly competitive, 2-party, issue-oriented system. Of the state's major elected partisan offices in January 1997, the Republicans held the positions of governor, lieutenant governor, state treasurer and 4 of the 9 congressional seats. Democrats filled the positions of secretary of state and attorney general, as well as holding both U.S. senate seats and 5 congressional seats. Republicans gained a majority in both houses in the 1995 Legislature. They had not held joint control of the 2 houses since 1969. In 1996, the Democrats regained control of the senate as a result of the state's first successful recall of a legislator.
In 2002, Wisconsin elected Jim Doyle, Democrat as it's Governor, Barbara Lawton, Democrat as it's Lt. Governor and Peggy Lautenschlager, Democrat as it's Attorney General.