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 County results La Follette : 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Rose : 40-50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Wisconsin |
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The 1902 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1902.
Incumbent Republican Governor Robert M. La Follette defeated Democratic nominee David Stuart Rose with 52.89% of the vote.
Conservative Republican party leaders attempted to deny La Follette renomination in 1902, but La Follette's energized supporters overcame the conservatives and took control of the state convention, implementing a progressive party platform. In the 1902 general election, La Follette decisively defeated the conservative Democratic nominee, Mayor David Stuart Rose of Milwaukee.[1]
In the aftermath of the 1902 election, the state legislature enacted the direct primary (subject to a statewide referendum) and La Follette's tax reform bill. The new tax law, which required railroads to pay taxes based on property owned rather than profits, resulted in railroads paying nearly double the amount of taxes they had paid before the enactment of the law.[2] Having accomplished his first two major goals, La Follette next focused on regulating railroad rates, but the railroads prevented passage of his bill in 1903.[3]