Bronson La Follette

Bronson Cutting La Follette (February 2, 1936 – March 15, 2018) was an American Democratic lawyer and politician. He was the 36th and 39th Attorney General of the state of Wisconsin, and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Wisconsin in 1968.

Bronson La Follette
36th and 39th Attorney General of Wisconsin
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1987
Governor	Patrick J. Lucey Martin J. Schreiber Lee S. Dreyfus Anthony S. Earl
Preceded by	Victor A. Miller
Succeeded by	Don Hanaway
In office January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1969
Governor	Warren P. Knowles
Preceded by	George Thompson
Succeeded by	Robert W. Warren
Personal details
Born	Bronson Cutting La Follette (1936-02-02)February 2, 1936 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	March 15, 2018(2018-03-15) (aged 82) Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Barbara La Follette
Children	2
Father	Robert M. La Follette Jr.
Relatives	Robert M. La Follette, Sr. (grandfather) Philip La Follette (uncle) Doug La Follette (third cousin) La Follette family
Residence	Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison University of Wisconsin Law School
Profession	Lawyer

Family

Born in Washington, D.C., he was the son of U.S. Senator Robert M. La Follette, Jr. and Rachel Wilson Young, and the grandson of U.S. Senator Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette, Sr., all of Wisconsin. He was named in memory of former U.S. Senator Bronson Cutting of New Mexico, a close family friend who died in an airplane crash in 1935.[1][2]

Biography

La Follette went to Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland. He received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1958 and a law degree in 1960.[3] He worked in private practice until 1962, when he was appointed an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin by U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.[4]

In 1964 he was elected Wisconsin Attorney General and served for two consecutive two-year terms, and later three consecutive four-year terms from 1975 to 1987.[3] He challenged the incumbent Republican Governor Warren P. Knowles in the 1968 Wisconsin gubernatorial election and lost.[4] He ran for and was again elected Attorney General in 1974. Despite a 1981 conviction for drunk driving (his blood alcohol content was 0.12% while the legal limit was 0.10%),[5] he was re-elected in 1982, and in the process became the first candidate for Wisconsin statewide office to receive one million votes.[6] After his 1986 defeat following an ethics investigation,[7] he retired from public service and lived in Madison.[8]

Death

La Follette died on March 15, 2018 at the age of 82 at the University of Wisconsin Hospital, in Madison, Wisconsin.[9][10][11]

Governor Scott Walker said in a statement: "Tonette and I send our prayers to the family of former Wisconsin Attorney General Bronson La Follette. He was a dedicated public servant for several decades."

See also

• La Follette family

Electoral history

Wisconsin Attorney General (1964, 1966)

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1964[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Republican	George Thompson (incumbent)	299,771	48.60%
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette	225,521	36.56%
	Democratic	William H. Evans	91,487	14.83%
Total votes			'616,779'	'100.0%'
General Election
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette	882,318	54.32%
	Republican	George Thompson (incumbent)	741,917	45.68%
Total votes			'1,624,235'	'100.0%'
	Democratic gain from Republican

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1966[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette (incumbent)	232,176	55.45%
	Republican	Louis J. Ceci	186,499	44.55%
Total votes			'418,675'	'100.0%'
General Election
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette (incumbent)	609,216	53.56%
	Republican	Louis J. Ceci	528,202	46.44%
Total votes			'1,137,418'	'100.0%'
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Governor (1968)

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election, 1968[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Republican	Warren P. Knowles (incumbent)	272,504	57.04%
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette	173,458	36.31%
	Democratic	Floyd L. Wille	31,778	6.65%
Total votes			'477,740'	'100.0%'
General Election
	Republican	Warren P. Knowles (incumbent)	893,463	52.88%
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette	791100	46.82%
	Independent	Adolf Wiggert	3,225	0.19%
	Independent	Robert Wilkinson	1,813	0.11%
Total votes			'1,689,601'	'100.0%'
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Attorney General (1974-1986)

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1974[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Republican	Gerald Lorge	143,337	30.64%
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette	132,538	28.33%
	Democratic	Anthony S. Earl	106,041	22.67%
	Democratic	Thomas M. Jacobson	50,678	10.83%
	Republican	Edward Nager	35,165	7.52%
Total votes			'467,759'	'100.0%'
General Election
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette	669,968	58.10%
	Republican	Gerald Lorge	483,232	41.90%
Total votes			'1,153,200'	'100.0%'
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1978[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette (incumbent)	232,057	51.96%
	Republican	William Mattka	213,651	47.84%
	Constitution	Thomas J. Bergen	903	0.20%
Total votes			'446,611'	'100.0%'
General Election
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette (incumbent)	868,829	61.28%
	Republican	William Mattka	533,943	37.66%
	Constitution	Thomas J. Bergen	15,045	1.06%
Total votes			'1,417,817'	'100.0%'	+22.95%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1982[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette (incumbent)	433,513	99.24%
	Libertarian	James S. Hoffert	1,510	0.35%
	Constitution	Gene D. Lineham	1,435	0.33%
	Republican	Marcus Gumz	327	0.07%
	Republican	William Belter	28	0.01%
Total votes			'436,813'	'100.0%'
General Election
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette (incumbent)	1,062,322	96.40%
	Libertarian	James S. Hoffert	27,004	2.45%
	Constitution	Gene D. Lineham	12,643	1.15%
Total votes			'1,101,969'	'100.0%'	-22.28%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1986[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette (incumbent)	217,185	48.38%
	Republican	Donald J. Hanaway	174,519	38.88%
	Republican	Bartley G. Mauch	56,200	12.52%
	Wis. Labor-Farm	Dennis L. Boyer	967	0.22%
Total votes			'436,813'	'100.0%'
General Election
	Republican	Donald J. Hanaway	751,208	51.96%
	Democratic	Bronson C. La Follette (incumbent)	664,181	45.94%
	Wis. Labor-Farm	Dennis L. Boyer	30,455	2.11%
Total votes			'1,101,969'	'100.0%'	+31.21%
	Republican gain from Democratic

References

1. "LaFollette [sic] family of Madison, Wisconsin". Politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
2. Patrick J. Maney. Young Bob: A Biography of Robert M. La Follette, Jr.. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2003, pp. 152-154.
3. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (comp.). State of Wisconsin 1985–1986 Blue Book. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Administration, 1985, pp. 6–7.
4. "Inside Campaign '74: La Follette". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wis. October 25, 1974. Retrieved July 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Jack Craver, "Notable Wisconsinites No Strangers to OWI Charges", Capital Times, May 26, 2013
6. "2017 Senate Resolution 7". Resolution of March 20, 2018. Wisconsin State Senate. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
7. Peter Maller, "Boullion sees 'police state' tendency in La Follette ethics probe", Milwaukee Sentinel, September 19, 1986, p. 1
8. La Follette, Bronson C. 1936. Wisconsin Historical Society.
9. Bronson C. La Follette-death notice
10. "Former Wisconsin Attorney General Bronson La Follette dies". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 16, 2018.
11. Bronson C. La Follette-obituary
12. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1966 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 732, 750. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
13. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1968 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 705, 750. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
14. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin Blue Book, 1970 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 793, 810. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
15. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin 1975 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 798, 818. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
16. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin 1979-1980 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 898, 916. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
17. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin 1983-1984 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 880, 902. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
18. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin 1987-1988 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 880, 898. Retrieved April 12, 2019.

External links

• Bronson La Follette at Find a Grave

Party political offices
Preceded by Patrick Lucey	Democratic nominee for Governor of Wisconsin 1968	Succeeded by Patrick Lucey
Legal offices
Preceded by George Thompson	Attorney General of Wisconsin 1965 – 1969	Succeeded by Robert W. Warren
Preceded by Victor A. Miller	Attorney General of Wisconsin 1975 – 1987	Succeeded by Don Hanaway