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(Redirected from Bronson Cutting La Follette) American politician

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	Barbara La Follette
Children	2
Parent	Robert M. La Follette Jr. (father)
Relatives	Robert M. La Follette, Sr. (grandfather) Philip La Follette (uncle) Doug La Follette (third cousin) La Follette family
Residence(s)	Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison University of Wisconsin Law School
Profession	Lawyer

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.

Family

Born in Washington, D.C., he was the son of U.S. Senator Robert M. La Follette Jr. and the grandson of U.S. Senator Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette, both 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.

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. 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.

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. He challenged the incumbent Republican Governor Warren P. Knowles in the 1968 Wisconsin gubernatorial election and lost. He ran for and was again elected Attorney General in 1974. Despite a 1981 conviction for drunk driving, he was re-elected in 1982, and in the process became the first candidate for Wisconsin statewide office to receive one million votes. After his 1986 defeat following an ethics investigation, he retired from public service and lived in Madison.

Death

La Follette died on March 15, 2018, at the age of 82 at the University of Wisconsin Hospital, in Madison, Wisconsin.

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."

Electoral history

Wisconsin Attorney General (1964, 1966)

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1964
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
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
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
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
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
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
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%
	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%
	Labor–Farm	Dennis L. Boyer	30,455	2.11%
Total votes			'*1,101,969'*	'*100.0%'*	+31.21%
	Republican gain from Democratic

References

"LaFollette [sic] family of Madison, Wisconsin". Politicalgraveyard.com. Archived from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
Patrick J. Maney. Young Bob: A Biography of Robert M. La Follette, Jr.. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2003, pp. 152-154.
^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (comp.). State of Wisconsin 1985–1986 Blue Book. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Administration, 1985, pp. 6–7.
^ "Inside Campaign '74: La Follette". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wis. October 25, 1974. Retrieved July 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
Jack Craver, "Notable Wisconsinites No Strangers to OWI Charges", Capital Times, May 26, 2013
2017 Senate Resolution 7 (Resolution). Wisconsin State Senate. March 20, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2019.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
Peter Maller, "Boullion sees 'police state' tendency in La Follette ethics probe", Milwaukee Sentinel, September 19, 1986, p. 1
La Follette, Bronson C. 1936. Wisconsin Historical Society.
Bronson C. La Follette-death notice
"Former Wisconsin Attorney General Bronson La Follette dies". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 16, 2018.
Bronson C. La Follette-obituary
Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1966 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 732, 750. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1968 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 705, 750. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Party political offices
Preceded byWilliam H. Evans	Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Wisconsin 1964, 1966	Succeeded byRichard Dickson Cudahy
Preceded byPatrick Lucey	Democratic nominee for Governor of Wisconsin 1968	Succeeded byPatrick Lucey
Preceded byThomas M. Jacobson	Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Wisconsin 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986	Succeeded byJim Doyle
Legal offices
Preceded byGeorge Thompson	Attorney General of Wisconsin 1965 – 1969	Succeeded byRobert W. Warren
Preceded byVictor A. Miller	Attorney General of Wisconsin 1975 – 1987	Succeeded byDon Hanaway

v t e Attorneys general of Wisconsin
Territory	Baird Wells Jackson Lynde H. Smith
State	Brown Coon E. Estabrook G. Smith W. R. Smith Bouck Howe W. Smith Gill Barlow Sloan Wilson Frisby C. Estabrook O'Connor Mylrea Hicks Sturdevant Gilbert Bancroft Owen Haven Blaine Morgan Ekern Reynolds Sr. Finnegan Loomis Martin Broadfoot Fairchild Thomson Honeck Reynolds Jr. Thompson La Follette Warren Miller La Follette Hanaway Doyle Lautenschlager Van Hollen Schimel Kaul

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