The 1897 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held in the 43rd Wisconsin Legislature on Incumbent Democratic U.S. senator William F. Vilas did not run for a second term. His predecessor, Republican former U.S. senator John Coit Spooner was elected to succeed him on the first ballot.
In the 1897 term, Republicans held overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, so had more than enough votes to elect a Republican