1925 Wisconsin elections

The 1925 Wisconsin elections were held April 7, 1925. Statewide contests on the ballot included a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and an election for superintendent of public instruction. The election also featured Wisconsin circuit courts and local elections. In addition to the state and local elections held in April, a special election for U.S. Senate was held in Wisconsin on September 29.

1925 Wisconsin elections

← 1924 April 7, 1925 1926 →

Federal offices

U.S. Senate

Main article: 1925 United States Senate special election in Wisconsin

A special United States Senate election was held for Wisconsin's Class 1 United States Senate seat on September 29, 1925, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Republican senator Robert M. La Follette. Robert M. La Follette Jr. was elected to a full six-year term. La Follette defeated Independent (and fellow Republican) former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin Edward Dithmar. Three other candidates also appeared on the general election ballot: John M. Work (Socialist), William G. Bruce (Independent/Democratic), and George Bauman (Socialist Labor).

There were three other candidates in the Republican primary, former state senator from Eau Claire Roy P. Wilcox, Daniel C. Woodward, and former Governor of Wisconsin Francis E. McGovern.

1925 U.S. Senate election in Wisconsin^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Robert La Follette Jr.	237,719	67.51%	13.16
	Independent Republican	Edward F. Dithmar	91,318	25.93%	N/A
	Socialist	John M. Work	11,130	3.16%	N/A
	Independent Democratic	William G. Bruce	10,743	3.05%	0.18
	Socialist Labor	George Bauman	795	0.23%	0.12
	Write-in		430	0.12%
Total votes			352,135	100.00%
	Republican hold

State offices

Executive

Superintendent of public instruction

1921 Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction election

← 1921 April 7, 1925 1929 →

Candidate John Callahan Popular vote 342,691 Percentage 99.88%

Justice before election John Callahan Elected Justice John Callahan

A regularly-scheduled election for Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin was held on April 7, 1925. The incumbent superintendent John Callahan, first elected in 1921, was re-elected without opposition.^[2][3]

1925 Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction election^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 7, 1925
	Nonpartisan	John Callahan (incumbent)	342,691	99.88
		Scattering	403	0.12
Plurality			342,691	99.88
Total votes			343,094	100

Judicial

State Supreme Court

1925 Wisconsin Supreme Court election

← 1924 April 7, 1925 1926 →

← 1922 (special) 1935 →

Candidate E. Ray Stevens John C. Kleist Popular vote 256,431 133,164 Percentage 65.81% 34.17%

Justice before election Burr W. Jones Elected Justice E. Ray Stevens

The 1925 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on Tuesday, April 7, 1925, to elect a justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. The incumbent justice, Burr W. Jones, declined to seek re-election.

A regularly-scheduled Wisconsin Supreme Court election was on the ballot for the general election on April 7, 1925, for a ten-year term on the court. The incumbent judge, Burr W. Jones, first appointed in 1920, declined to seek re-election. Judge of the Wisconsin circuit court for the 9th circuit E. Ray Stevens defeated former district attorney of Calumet County John C. Kleist

Newspaper advertisement for Stevens' candidacy

Prior to both of their judicial careers, from 1896 to 1903, Jones and Stevens had been law partners in Madison, running the law firm Jones & Stevens.^[4] Stevens' campaign advertised endorsements from both of the state's incumbent U.S. senators (Robert M. La Follette Sr. and Irvine Lenroot); incumbent governor John J. Blaine and former governors Emanuel L. Philipp and Francis E. McGovern. In addition to these Republican state leaders, the endorsement of Martin L. Lueck's (a priminent Democratic politician in the state) was also touted. The campaign's advertisements also claimed that each Republican and Democrat in the 57th Wisconsin Legislature had endorsed his candidacy, and also touted supported from "farm and labor, women and soldier organizations."^[5]

Kleist, then a lawyer who resided in Milwaukee, had previously served for two-terms as the elected district attorney of Calumet County in the 1880s.^[6] He had since his tenure as district attorney run for various judicial and political offices, losing each campaign.^[7] He ran several times for seats on the Wisconsin circuit courts in Milwaukee County, but lost all of them.^[6] He first ran in 1910 for a seat on the Wisconsin Circuit Courts but lost to Franz C. Eschweiler. He later was the nominee of the Social-Democratic Party of Wisconsin in the 1911 United States Senate election in Wisconsin. Prior to his 1925 campaign, he had run for the same seat on Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1922, losing to Jones.^[8]

During the campaign, The Capital Times described Kleist as being the "candidate of the Ku Klux Klan". In 1924, he had been expelled from the Social–Democratic Party over his alleged ties to the Klan.^[7] During his campaign, he was supported by the Anti-Saloon League, which promoted his candidacy in the Wisconsin edition of the The American Issue.^[9]

1925 Wisconsin Supreme Court election^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 7, 1925
	Nonpartisan	E. Ray Stevens	256,431	65.81
	Nonpartisan	John C. Kleist	133,164	34.17
		Scattering	73	0.02
Plurality			123,267	31.63
Total votes			389,668	100

Circuit courts

Several elections to the Wisconsin circuit courts were contested in 1925, including elections for judgeships on newly created branches of the court in Milwaukee County, Dane County, and Sauk County^[11]

Among the notable results in circuit court races was the election of Charles L. Aarons over Henry Cummings for brnach number 8 in Milwaukee County.^[11]

Local offices

Many local elections were also held coinciding with state elections.^[11]

Milwaukee County

Milwaukee ballot propositions

Milwaukee voted on local propositions (defeating a proposal for a civic center; defeating a proposal to fund the streetcar services of the The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company at-cost; approving a $1 million bond issue for improvements to public schools; and approving a $500,000 bond issue to construct a garbage disposal plant).

Milwaukee municipal court

The city also elected three judges to its municipal court.^[11]

Manitowoc County

Manitowoc mayor

Manitowoc re-elected incumbent mayor Martin Georgenson (Socialist Labor Party) over challenger Frank E. Diebert.

Manitowoc city council

Socialists also increased their representation on its city council by two seats.^[11]