Doug La Follette Explained

Doug La Follette
Office:28th and 30th Secretary of State of Wisconsin
Governor:Tony Earl
Tommy Thompson
Scott McCallum
Jim Doyle
Scott Walker
Tony Evers
Term Start:January 3, 1983
Term End:March 17, 2023
Predecessor:Vel Phillips
Successor:Sarah Godlewski
Governor1:Patrick Lucey
Martin J. Schreiber
Term Start1:January 6, 1975
Term End1:January 3, 1979
Predecessor1:Robert C. Zimmerman
Successor1:Vel Phillips
State Senate2:Wisconsin
District2:22nd
Term Start2:January 1, 1973
Term End2:January 6, 1975
Predecessor2:Joseph Lourigan
Successor2:John J. Maurer
Birth Date:6 June 1940
Birth Place:Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Party:Democratic
Education:Marietta College (BS)
Stanford University (MS)
Columbia University (PhD)
Module:
Embed:yes
Field:Organic chemistry
Workplaces:University of Wisconsin–Parkside
Thesis Title:Intramolecular Solvation
Thesis Url:http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44904376
Thesis Year:1967
Doctoral Advisor:Ronald Breslow

Douglas J. La Follette (born June 6, 1940) is an American academic, environmental scientist, and politician who served as the 30th secretary of state of Wisconsin from 1983 to 2023. He is a member of the Democratic Party. At the time of his retirement, La Follette was the longest-serving statewide elected official (excluding U.S. senators) in the United States; he was narrowly re-elected in 2022 to an unprecedented 12th term in office, but retired shortly after the start of the new term.[1] He previously served as the 28th secretary of state from 1975 to 1979, and in the Wisconsin Senate from 1973 to 1975.

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.

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, La Follette resigned as secretary of state. Governor Tony Evers appointed former State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski to the position.[14] 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)

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Democratic Primary, September 8, 1970

Wisconsin Senate (1972)

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Democratic Primary, September 12, 1972| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, November 7, 1972

Wisconsin Secretary of State (1974)

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Democratic Primary, September 10, 1974| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, November 5, 1974

Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor (1978)

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Democratic Lieutenant Governor Primary, September 12, 1978| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, November 7, 1978

Wisconsin Secretary of State (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994)

Year ElectionDateElectedDefeatedTotalPlurality
1982[15] PrimaryDemocratic275,72951.13%Dem.166,37130.85%539,227109,358
Dem.66,57612.35%
Dem.30,5515.67%
GeneralDemocratic984,83565.57%Rep.496,02433.03%1,501,899488,811
Lib.13,4810.90%
Con.7,5590.50%
1986[16] GeneralDemocratic754,03252.07%Rep.670,67246.31%1,448,18983,360
L-F23,4851.62%
1990[17] PrimaryDemocratic129,92672.38%Dem.49,59027.62%179,51680,336
GeneralDemocratic733,39055.67%Rep.583,95544.33%1,317,345149,435
1994[18] GeneralDemocratic845,74257.03%Rep.590,66639.83%1,482,943255,076
Lib.26,3971.78%
Tax.20,1381.36%

U.S. House (1996)

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Democratic Primary, September 10, 1996

Wisconsin Secretary of State (1998 - 2023)

Year ElectionDateElectedDefeatedTotalPlurality
1998General[19] Democratic973,74457.98%Rep.660,40639.32%1,679,484313,338
Lib.18,0741.08%
Tax.17,3541.03%
Ref.9,9060.59%
2002General[20] Democratic950,92956.60%Rep.693,47641.27%1,680,164257,453
Con.34,7502.07%
2006Primary[21] Democratic236,547 71.19%Dem.95,35428.70% 332,265 141,193
General[22] Democratic1,184,72058.07%Rep.796,68639.05%2,040,144388,034
Grn.57,3262.81%
2010General[23] Democratic1,074,11851.61%Rep.1,005,21748.30%2,081,19868,901
2014General[24] Democratic1,161,11350.00%Rep.1,074,835 46.29%2,322,03586,278
Ind.58,9962.54%
Con.25,7441.11%
2018Primary[25] Democratic327,02065.84%Dem.169,13034.05%496,720157,890
General[26] Democratic1,380,75252.74%Rep.1,235,03447.18%2,617,948145,718
Grn.600.00%
2022Primary[27] Democratic300,77363.57%Dem.171,95436.34%473,144128,819
General[28] Democratic1,268,74848.30%Rep.1,261,30648.01%2,626,9437,442
Lib.54,4132.07%
Grn.41,5321.58%

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: La Follette, Douglas J. . 8 August 2017 . Wisconsin Historical Society . March 17, 2018.
  2. Wisconsin Blue Book 2017-2018. Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, 2017, p. 5.
  3. Web site: About Us. Clean Wisconsin. December 1, 2023.
  4. Bill Glauber. "La Follette weathers Republican tsunami" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 11, 2010.
  5. Carmen Drahl. "https://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i20/Douglas-La-Follette.html" "Douglas La Follette Chemist-turned-politician ran low-budget gubernatorial campaign", May 14th, 2012.
  6. Peter Dreier. "https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/la-follettes-wisconsin-idea" Dissent Magazine, April 11th, 2011.
  7. Dan Plutchak. "https://wkow.com/2018/11/06/lafollette-wins/" "Longtime Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette wins re-election", November 6th, 2018.
  8. AP. "https://www.weau.com/content/news/La-Follette-re-elected-as-secretary-of-state-499905411.html" WEAU 13 News, Nov 6th, 2018.
  9. "Bronson La Follette critical of relative". The Milwaukee Journal, February 10, 1970, p. 12.
  10. Staff Archive. "https://www.milwaukeemag.com/whatdoesdouglafollettedoallday/" Milwaukee Magazine, November 20th, 2006.
  11. Book: Unger, Nancy . 2008 . Fighting Bob La Follette: The Righteous Reformer . Madison . Wisconsin Historical Society Press.
  12. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (comp.). The State of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book. Madison: 1973, p. 64.
  13. Web site: Doug La Follette sues Scott Walker over budget cuts to his office . 15 July 2015 . July 5, 2021 . Wisconsin State Journal.
  14. Web site: Bauer . Scott . Richmond . Todd . March 17, 2023 . Wisconsin Democratic Secretary of State La Follette resigns . March 17, 2023 . Independent.
  15. The State of Wisconsin 1983-1984 Blue Book . Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau . 2019-04-08 . Elections in Wisconsin . 878, 901 .
  16. The state of Wisconsin 1987-1988 Blue Book . Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau . 2019-04-08 . Elections in Wisconsin . 878, 897 .
  17. State of Wisconsin 1991-1992 Blue Book . Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau . 2019-04-08 . Elections in Wisconsin . 889, 907 .
  18. State of Wisconsin 1995-1996 Blue Book . Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau . 2019-04-08 . Elections in Wisconsin . 893, 913 .
  19. State of Wisconsin 1999-2000 Blue Book . Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau . 2019-04-08 . Elections in Wisconsin . 888, 889 .
  20. Results of Fall General Election . Wisconsin State Elections Board. 2002-11-05 . 2019-04-08. 2 . Wisconsin Historical Society.
  21. Results of Fall Primary Election . Wisconsin State Elections Board. 2006-09-12 . 2019-04-08. 4 . Wisconsin Historical Society.
  22. Results of Fall General Election . Wisconsin State Elections Board. 2006-11-07 . 2019-04-08. 2 . Wisconsin Historical Society.
  23. 2010 Fall General Election Results Summary Post Recount . . 2010-11-30 . 2019-04-08. 2 . .
  24. Canvass Results for 2014 General Election . . 2014-11-04 . 2019-04-08. 2 . .
  25. Canvass Results for 2018 Partisan Primary . . 2018-08-14 . 2019-04-08. 6.
  26. Canvass Results for 2018 General Election . . February 22, 2019 . November 23, 2022 . 2.
  27. Canvass Results for 2022 Partisan Primary - 8/9/2022 . . August 26, 2022 . November 23, 2022 . 3 .
  28. Canvass Results for 2022 General Election - 11/8/2022 . . November 21, 2022 . November 23, 2022 . 1–2 .