Doug La Follette

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters". Douglas J. La Follette (born June 6, 1940) is a retired American academic, environmental scientist, and Democratic politician from Wisconsin. He was the 28th and 30th secretary of state of Wisconsin, serving from 1975 to 1979, and from 1983 to 2023. With his 44 years as secretary of state, La Follette is the longest-serving statewide elected official in Wisconsin history, and at the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving statewide elected official in the United States (excluding U.S. senators).[1] Earlier in his career, he was a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing Wisconsin's 21st Senate district during the 1973–1974 term. He was also the Democratic Party nominee for lieutenant governor of Wisconsin in 1978, and made unsuccessful bids for U.S. House of Representatives (in 1970 and 1996) and for governor of Wisconsin (in 2012).

Early life and career

A distant relative of the prominent Wisconsin La Follette family, La Follette was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Marietta College, his Master of Science in chemistry from Stanford University, and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Columbia University. He began a teaching career as an assistant professor at University of Wisconsin–Parkside in Kenosha. La Follette also served as a research associate at University of Wisconsin–Madison. He also owned a small business.[2]

Known as an environmentalist before running for public office, he was a Wisconsin organizer of the first Earth Day for Gaylord Nelson in 1970 and co-founded Wisconsin's Environmental Decade (now known as Clean Wisconsin) with Peter Anderson.[3]

His great-grandfather has been described as an uncle of Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette[4][5] by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Chemical & Engineering News, while Dissent Magazine referred to the great-grandfather as Robert La Follette's brother.[6] WKOW News and WEAU News state that Robert La Follette was Doug's great-uncle.[7][8] Robert's grandson, former Wisconsin Attorney General Bronson La Follette, has described Doug La Follette as a "second cousin, three times removed" from Robert La Follette.[9] Alternatively, Milwaukee Magazine has noted Doug as a first cousin three times removed of Robert La Follette.[10] According to professor and author Nancy Unger, Doug is a third cousin of Bronson.[11] Doug went on to serve with Bronson from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1987.

Political career

La Follette first ran for office in the 1970 U.S. House of Representatives election, losing to Les Aspin in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district. La Follette served in the Wisconsin State Senate for Kenosha in 1973 and 1974.[12]

La Follette was elected Secretary of State of Wisconsin in 1974. He unsuccessfully ran for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on a ticket with Governor Martin Schreiber in 1978. In 1982, he was again elected secretary of state, defeating incumbent Vel Phillips in the primary.[2]

During his time in office, the Wisconsin legislature repeatedly reduced the office's duties and budget.[13]

In his campaigns for Secretary of State, among other campaigns, La Follette shunned fundraising in the style of former Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire. In 1990, his opponent, Madison attorney and radio personality Stuart Levitan, campaigned on a promise to eliminate the secretary of state's office, whose duties had been reduced and transferred to other agencies (including the State Board of Elections) by the state legislature, under La Follette's tenure. In the Republican wave election year of 1994, despite being outspent more than 2 to 1 by his Republican opponent (both candidates had a low budget), he held him to less than forty percent of the vote.

Since being elected secretary of state, La Follette has run twice for federal office. In 1988, he ran for the U.S. Senate, losing the primary to Herb Kohl. In 1996, he made another bid for the U.S. House of Representatives, losing in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district to Lydia Spottswood, who went on to lose the general election to Mark Neumann.

In 2012, La Follette ran in the Democratic primary in the special election to recall Scott Walker.

In 2023, three months into his eleventh term, La Follette resigned as secretary of state. Governor Tony Evers appointed former State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski to the position.[14] In his resignation letter, he stated that he didn't want to "spend the next three and a half years trying to run an office without adequate resources and staffing levels."[15] At the time of his retirement, La Follette was the longest serving non-federal statewide elected official in the United States holding the same office, having served from January 3, 1983 to March 17, 2023.

Other roles

Electoral history

U.S. House (1970)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
1970 Primary[16] Sep. 8 Les Aspin valign="top" rowspan="3" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic 15,185 39.83% Doug La Follette valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 15,165 39.78% 38,124 20
Gerald T. Flynn valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 6,130 16.08%
Perry J. Anderson valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 1,644 4.31%

Wisconsin Senate (1972)

Wisconsin Senate, 22nd District Election, 1972[17]
Party Candidate Votes % <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />±%Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Democratic Primary, September 12, 1972

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

Script error: No such module "Political party". John J. Maurer 3,332 22.99%
Script error: No such module "Political party". Edwin Anderson 2,582 17.81%
Script error: No such module "Political party". Ronald F. Lourigan 2,478 17.10%
Script error: No such module "Political party". Richard Lindgren 1,448 9.99%
Plurality 1,322 9.12%
Total votes 14,494 100.0%
General Election, November 7, 1972

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

Script error: No such module "Political party". George W. Anderson 21,161 44.75% Script error: No such module "String".
Script error: No such module "Political party". Chester Hensley 601 1.27%
Plurality 4,361 9.22% -2.54%
Total votes 47,284 100.0% +15.44%
Script error: No such module "Political party". hold

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Wisconsin Secretary of State (1974)

Wisconsin Secretary of State Election, 1974[18]
Party Candidate Votes % <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />±%Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Democratic Primary, September 10, 1974

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

Script error: No such module "Political party". Eugene Parks 77,409 24.61%
Total votes 314,486 100.0%
General Election, November 5, 1974

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

Script error: No such module "Political party". Kent C. Jones 406,602 34.90% Script error: No such module "String".
Script error: No such module "Political party". Eugene R. Zimmerman 60,962 5.23% Script error: No such module "String".
Plurality 290,926 24.97% +0.69%
Total votes 1,165,092 100.0% -10.58%
Script error: No such module "Political party". gain from Script error: No such module "Political party".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor (1978)

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election, 1978[19]
Party Candidate Votes % <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />±%Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Democratic Lieutenant Governor Primary, September 12, 1978

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

Script error: No such module "Political party". Dale McKenna 47,257 13.98%
Script error: No such module "Political party". Harout O. Sanasarian 40,268 11.91%
Script error: No such module "Political party". Paul Offner 40,008 11.84%
Script error: No such module "Political party". Robert A. Anderson 21,230 6.28%
Script error: No such module "Political party". Charles F. Smith Jr. 19,504 5.77%
Script error: No such module "Political party". Monroe Swan 18,392 5.44%
Total votes 338,025 100.0%
General Election, November 7, 1978

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

Script error: No such module "Political party". Martin J. Schreiber (incumbent)
/ Doug La Follette 		673,813 44.89% Script error: No such module "String".
Script error: No such module "Political party". Eugene R. Zimmerman
/ George Reed 		6,355 0.42% Script error: No such module "String".
Independent George C. Doherty
/ Marion A. Doherty 		2,183 0.15%
Independent Adrienne Kaplan
/ William Breihan 		1,548 0.10%
Independent Henry A. Ochsner
/ Robert E. Nordlander 		849 0.06%
Scattering 192 0.01%
Plurality 142,243 9.48% -1.65%
Total votes 1,500,996 100.0% +27.00%
Script error: No such module "Political party". gain from Script error: No such module "Political party".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction (1981)

Wisconsin Secretary of State (1982–2022)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
1982 Primary[20] Sep. 14 Doug La Follette rowspan="3" valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 275,729 51.13% Ada Deer valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Dem. 166,371 30.85% 539,227 109,358
Vel Phillips (inc) valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Dem. 66,576 12.35%
Lewis T. Mittness valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Dem. 30,551 5.67%
General[20] Nov. 2 Doug La Follette rowspan="3" valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 984,835 65.57% Frederick H. Rice valign="top" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Rep. 496,024 33.03% 1,501,899 488,811
Leslie G. Key valign="top" style="background:Template:Party color" | Lib. 13,481 0.90%
Leslie G. Key Con. 7,559 0.50%
1986 General[21] Nov. 4 Doug La Follette (inc) rowspan="2" valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 754,032 52.07% Clifford Krueger valign="top" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Rep. 670,672 46.31% 1,448,189 83,360
Richard L. Ackley valign="top" Template:Party shading/Labor | L-F 23,485 1.62%
1990 Primary[22] Sep. 11 Doug La Follette (inc) valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 129,926 72.38% Stuart Levitan valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Dem. 49,590 27.62% 179,516 80,336
General[22] Nov. 6 Doug La Follette (inc) valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 733,390 55.67% Robert M. Thompson valign="top" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Rep. 583,955 44.33% 1,317,345 149,435
1994 General[23] Nov. 8 Doug La Follette (inc) rowspan="3" valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 845,742 57.03% Erling G. Jackson valign="top" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Rep. 590,666 39.83% 1,482,943 255,076
Kevin Scheunemann valign="top" style="background:Template:Party color" | Lib. 26,397 1.78%
Ernest Brusubardis III Tax. 20,138 1.36%
1998 General[24] Nov. 3 Doug La Follette (inc) rowspan="4" valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 973,744 57.98% Linda A. Cross valign="top" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Rep. 660,406 39.32% 1,679,484 313,338
Donald L. Carlson valign="top" style="background:Template:Party color" | Lib. 18,074 1.08%
William C. Hemenway Tax. 17,354 1.03%
Leroy Mueller valign="top" Template:Party shading/Reform | Ref. 9,906 0.59%
2002 General[25] Nov. 5 Doug La Follette (inc) rowspan="2" valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 950,929 56.60% Robert Gerald Lorge valign="top" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Rep. 693,476 41.27% 1,680,164 257,453
Edward J. Frami Con. 34,750 2.07%
2006 Primary[26] Sep. 12 Doug La Follette (inc) valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 236,547 71.19% Scot Ross valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Dem. 95,354 28.70% 332,265 141,193
General[27] Nov. 7 Doug La Follette (inc) rowspan="2" valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 1,184,720 58.07% Sandy Sullivan valign="top" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Rep. 796,686 39.05% 2,040,144 388,034
Michael LaForest Grn. 57,326 2.81%
2010 General[28] Nov. 2 Doug La Follette (inc) valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 1,074,118 51.61% David D. King valign="top" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Rep. 1,005,217 48.30% 2,081,198 68,901
2014 General[29] Nov. 4 Doug La Follette (inc) rowspan="3" valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 1,161,113 50.00% Julian Bradley valign="top" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Rep. 1,074,835 46.29% 2,322,035 86,278
Andy Craig valign="top" Template:Party shading/Independent | Ind. 58,996 2.54%
Jerry Broitzman Con. 25,744 1.11%
2018 Primary[30] Aug. 14 Doug La Follette (inc) valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 327,020 65.84% Arvina Martin valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Dem. 169,130 34.05% 496,720 157,890
General[31] Nov. 6 Doug La Follette (inc) rowspan="2" valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 1,380,752 52.74% Jay Schroeder valign="top" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Rep. 1,235,034 47.18% 2,617,948 145,718
Brad Karas (write-in) Grn. 60 0.00%
2022 Primary[32] Aug. 9 Doug La Follette (inc) valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 300,773 63.57% Alexia Sabor valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Dem. 171,954 36.34% 473,144 128,819
General[33] Nov. 8 Doug La Follette (inc) rowspan="3" valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic 1,268,748 48.30% Amy Loudenbeck valign="top" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Rep. 1,261,306 48.01% 2,626,943 7,442
Neil Harmon valign="top" style="background:Template:Party color" | Lib. 54,413 2.07%
Sharyl R. McFarland Grn. 41,532 1.58%

U.S. Senate (1988)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
1988 Primary[34] Sep. 13 Herb Kohl valign="top" rowspan="4" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic 249,226 46.78% Tony Earl valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 203,479 38.19% 533,004 45,747
Ed Garvey valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 55,225 10.37%
Doug La Follette valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 19,819 3.72%
Edmund Hou-Seye valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 5,040 0.95%

U.S. House (1996)

Template:Election box plurality no change
Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District Election, 1996[35]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Primary, September 10, 1996
Script error: No such module "Political party". Lydia Spottswood Script error: No such module "string". 45.68%
Script error: No such module "Political party". Doug La Follette Script error: No such module "string". 36.64%
Script error: No such module "Political party". Jeffrey C. Thomas Script error: No such module "string". 12.65%
Script error: No such module "Political party". Jerry Maiers Script error: No such module "string". 5.03%
Total votes Script error: No such module "string". 100.0%

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Wisconsin Governor (2012)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2012 Recall Primary[36] May 8 Tom Barrett rowspan="10" valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic 390,191 58.10% Kathleen Falk valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 229,236 34.13% 671,602 160,955
Kathleen Vinehout valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 26,967 4.02%
Douglas La Follette valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 19,497 2.90%
Gladys Huber valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 4,847 0.72%
Scattering valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 864 0.13%

References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ a b Wisconsin Blue Book 2017-2018. Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, 2017, p. 5.
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Bill Glauber. "La Follette weathers Republican tsunami" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 11, 2010.
  5. ↑ Carmen Drahl. "[1]" "Douglas La Follette Chemist-turned-politician ran low-budget gubernatorial campaign", May 14th, 2012.
  6. ↑ Peter Dreier. "[2]" Dissent Magazine, April 11th, 2011.
  7. ↑ Dan Plutchak. "[3]" "Longtime Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette wins re-election", November 6th, 2018.
  8. ↑ AP. "[4]" WEAU 13 News, Nov 6th, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Bronson La Follette critical of relative". The Milwaukee Journal, February 10, 1970, p. 12.
  10. ↑ Staff Archive. "[5]" Milwaukee Magazine, November 20th, 2006.
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (comp.). The State of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book. Madison: 1973, p. 64.
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

Template:Sister project

Party political offices
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Democratic nominee for Secretary of State of Wisconsin
1974 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
1978 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Democratic nominee for Secretary of State of Wisconsin
1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 Template:S-ttl/check 		Most recent
Template:Error
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 22nd district
1973–1975 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Secretary of State of Wisconsin
1975–1979 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Secretary of State of Wisconsin
1983–2023 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by

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