The 1896 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1896.
Incumbent Republican Governor William H. Upham retired.
Republican nominee Edward Scofield defeated Democratic nominee Willis C. Silverthorn with 59.67% of the vote. Scofield's popular vote share was the highest in the state's history for a gubernatorial candidate to that point, reflecting the state's transition from a Republican-leaning but competitive state to one dominated by the Republicans.
General election
Candidates
Major party candidates
- Willis C. Silverthorn, Democratic, Democratic nominee for Wisconsin's 8th congressional district in 1880, Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Wisconsin in 1884
- Edward Scofield, Republican, former State Senator
Other candidates
- Joshua H. Berkey, Prohibition, temperance lecturer
- Christ Tuttrop, Socialist Labor
- Robert Henderson, National, Prohibitionist nominee for Wisconsin State Senate in 1892
Results by county
Scofield was the first Republican to ever win Dodge County, Manitowoc County, and Washington County; Dodge County would not vote Republican again until 1916. Scofield was also the first Republican since 1855 to carry Outagamie County, the first since 1857 to carry Jefferson County, and the first since 1861 to carry Kewaunee County.
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Dodge
- Jefferson
- Kewaunee
- Langlade
- Manitowoc
- Outagamie
- Washington