1957 United States Senate special election in Wisconsin
Open-knowledge reference entry
The 1957 United States Senate special election in Wisconsin took place on August 27, 1957, to elect a U.S. Senator to complete the unexpired term of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who died on May 2, 1957.
Unlike most states Wisconsin law did not allow for the gubernatorial appointment of an interim Senator.
Democratic nominee William Proxmire defeated Republican nominee and former Governor Walter J. Kohler Jr.
Primary elections
Primary elections were held on July 30, 1957.
Democratic primary
Candidates
William Proxmire, former State Representative, Democratic nominee for Governor in 1952, 1954 and 1956
Clement J. Zablocki, incumbent U.S. Representative
Declined
Henry S. Reuss, incumbent U.S. Representative
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
Glenn Robert Davis, former U.S. Representative, unsuccessful candidate for Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 1956
Henry P. Hughes, former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Warren P. Knowles, incumbent Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
Walter J. Kohler Jr., former Governor of Wisconsin
Gerald D. Lorge, incumbent State Senator
Alvin E. O'Konski, incumbent U.S. Representative
John C. Schafer, former U.S. Representative
Declined
Howard H. Boyle, attorney, unsuccessful candidate for Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 1956
Results
General election
Major party candidates
Walter J. Kohler Jr., Republican
William Proxmire, Democratic
Minor party candidates
Howard H. Boyle, "Joe McCarthy Republican", attorney
Georgia Cozzini, Socialist Labor, housewife
Douglas J. Wheaton, steamfitter
The three minor candidates all technically ran as independents.
Results
See also
1957 United States Senate elections
References
Bibliography
Congressional Elections, 1946-1996. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. ISBN 1-56802-248-4.
Scammon, Richard M., ed.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “1957 United States Senate special election in Wisconsin” as open-knowledge reference entry. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as open-knowledge reference entry. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q105047950. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1957, 1952, 1954 and 1956.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “1957 United States Senate special election in Wisconsin”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow 1957 United States Senate special election in Wisconsin primary sources, 1957 United States Senate special election in Wisconsin archive and United research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “1957 United States Senate special election in Wisconsin”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “1957 United States Senate special election in Wisconsin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.