Alexander W. Randall was a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee prior to the 1857 gubernatorial election, having been appointed by the previous Governor, Coles Bashford. Randall had been an attorney for Governor Bashford in his challenge of the 1855 Wisconsin gubernatorial election results. Earlier, in 1846, Randall had been a delegate to the first Wisconsin constitutional convention and had successfully advocated for including a provision by which African American suffrage could be legalized via referendum. Randall served as a Democrat in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1855, but became a Republican later that year when he ran unsuccessfully for election to be Attorney General of Wisconsin.
Randall became a compromise choice for gubernatorial nominee at the 1857 Wisconsin Republican Convention after delegates became deadlocked between the two leading candidates, Edward Holton and Walter McIndoe.
Other candidates
Edward D. Holton, of Milwaukee, had previously been a candidate for Governor in the 1853 election, running as an independent. Holton was a strident abolitionist and was well-connected to the Milwaukee elite as a businessman and banker.
Walter D. McIndoe, of Wausau, had served three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the frontier northern counties of the state. McIndoe was a Scottish immigrant and worked in the lumber industry.
Democratic party
James B. Cross was the incumbent Mayor of Milwaukee at the time of the 1857 gubernatorial election, serving his third consecutive term in that role. He had also represented Milwaukee in the Wisconsin State Assembly for three terms. Cross was a lawyer and had previously served as a probate judge in Milwaukee County. He was a Wisconsin delegate to the 1856 Democratic National Convention.
James B. Cross was nominated on the third ballot at the Wisconsin Democratic Party Convention. He received 89 votes; Jairus C. Fairchild received 37; Francis Huebschmann received 14.[2]
^There are two certificates from the Board of State Canvassers for the 1857 election. The second one includes additional votes from Adams County and Dodge County. These additional votes did not affect the final outcome, although the final result is significantly closer in the latter canvass and Cross wins Dodge County instead of Randall. The figures below are from the second canvass, including the additional votes.
References
^Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, Wisconsin Legislature (2015). Wisconsin Blue Book 2015-2016. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Administration. pp. 699–701. ISBN978-0-9752820-7-6.
^ abWisconsin Historical Society, Tabular Statement Of the Votes polled for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Seceretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, State Superintendent, Bank Comptroller and State Prison Commissioner, at a General Election held in the several Counties in the State of Wisconsin on Tuesday succeeding the first Monday, being the 3rd day of November 1857
