1956 Wisconsin Supreme Court election

← 1955

April 3, 1956

1957 →

← 1946

1966 →


Candidate	Thomas E. Fairchild	William H. Dieterich
Popular vote	574,429	165,953
Percentage	77.59%	22.41%

Justice before election

Edward T. Fairchild

Elected Justice

Thomas E. Fairchild

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The 1956 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on Tuesday, April 3, 1956 to elect a justice to a full ten-year seat the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Thomas E. Fairchild (son of incumbent justice Edward T. Fairchild – who was not seeking reelection) won the election. He handily defeated William H. Dieterich (a perennial candidate for state office, who later won a surprise victory in the 1958 election to the court).^[1]

Prior to the general election, a nonpartisan primary was held in which both Fairchild and Dieterich advanced against former state legislator Clair Finch.

Candidates

[edit]

Thomas E. Fairchild: former United States Attorney, former Wisconsin attorney general, and son of the outgoing incumbent justice
William H. Dieterich: Milwaukee County-based lawyer and perennial candidate;^[1]^[2] unsuccessful candidate for Wisconsin attorney general (1942,^[3] 1944,^[4] 1946,^[5] and 1948) and Supreme Court in 1954^[6]
Clair Finch: former state legislator

Results

[edit]

1956 Wisconsin Supreme Court election^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
Primary election (March 6, 1956)
	Nonpartisan	Thomas E. Fairchild	250,442	71.77
	Nonpartisan	William H. Dieterich	68,288	19.57
	Nonpartisan	Clair Finch	30,244	8.67
Total votes			348,974	100
General Election (April 3, 1956)
	Nonpartisan	Thomas E. Fairchild	574,429	77.59
	Nonpartisan	William H. Dieterich	165,953	22.41
Total votes			740,382	100

References

[edit]

^ ^a ^b Wyngaard, John (April 2, 1958). "Wingert Defeat Stirs Thoughts on Tradition". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved March 30, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Wyngaard, John (April 2, 1958). "Vote Startles State Politicians". Newspapers.com. La Crosse Tribune. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
^ "The Wisconsin Blue Book 1944". State of Wisconsin. 1944. p. 576. Retrieved April 7, 2025 – via search.library.wisc.edu (UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries).
^ "The Wisconsin Blue Book 1946". State of Wisconsin. 1946. p. 668. Retrieved April 7, 2025 – via search.library.wisc.edu (UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries).
^ "The Wisconsin Blue Book 1948". State of Wisconsin. 1948. p. 603. Retrieved April 7, 2025 – via search.library.wisc.edu (UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries).
^ Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1956). "Parties and Elections: The Judicial and Nonpartisan Elections" (PDF). The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1956 (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 757. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
^ Toepel, M.G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1958). "Parties and elections: the judicial and nonpartisan elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1958 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 780–781. Retrieved April 7, 2025.

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