William Raggio (October 30, 1926 – February 23, 2012) was an American politician and a former Republican member of the Nevada Senate. He represented Washoe County's 3rd district from 1972 until his retirement in 2011. He is the longest-serving member in the history of the State Senate.

Early life, education, and early career

Raggio was born in Reno, Nevada in 1926. He obtained his B.A. by attending Louisiana Tech University, University of Oklahoma, and University of Nevada, Reno, where he was a member of

Alpha Tau Omega Alpha Tau Omega (), commonly known as ATO, is an American social fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1865 by Otis Allan Glazebrook. The fraternity has around 250 active and inactive chapters and colonies in the United Stat ...

. He obtained his J.D. from the Hastings College of Law at the University of California and the

Boalt Hall School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

at University of California, Berkeley. Raggio then joined the military. He was a member of the United States Navy Reserve (USNR) and became a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

of the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR). Raggio started his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney of Washoe County (1952–1958) and was the D.A. of the county (1958–1970).

Political career

1970 U.S. Senate race

Raggio first ran for public office statewide in 1970 against incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator

Howard Cannon Howard Walter Cannon (January 26, 1912 – March 5, 2002) was an American politician from Nevada. Elected to the first of four consecutive terms in 1958, he served in the United States Senate from 1959 to 1983. He was a member of the Democratic ...

, who defeated Raggio, the Republican nominee, with nearly 58% of the vote to serve a third term.

1974 Lieutenant Governor race

Incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Nevada Harry Reid decided not to run for another term, in order to run for the U.S. Senate. This left an open seat. Democrat nominee

Robert E. Rose Robert Edgar Rose (October 7, 1939 – February 14, 2022) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 26th lieutenant governor of Nevada from 1975 to 1979 and was the party's nominee for Governor of Nevada in 1978. ...

defeated Raggio, the Republican nominee, with an estimated 52% of the vote statewide.

State Senate tenure (1972–2011)

Raggio served 12 special and 19 regular sessions, the longest Senate service in Nevada history. He was Senate Minority Floor Leader in 1977–1979, 1983–1986, 1991, and 2009. He was Senate Majority Floor Leader in 1987–1989 and 1993–2007. He was Chairman of the Interim Senate Finance Committee in 1988–1990, 1993–1994, 1997–1998, and 2001–2002. He was Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1987 to 1989 and 1993–2005. He was also Chairman of the Legislative Committee on Education from 1997 to 1999 and 2001–2003.

Death

On February 23, 2012, Raggio died at the age of 85 while on vacation in Sydney, Australia. His cause of death was reported as respiratory illness. Raggio fathered three children, Leslie, Tracy and Mark (d. 2004).

References

External links

Senator William J. Raggio
''official Nevada Legislature site'' *
William J. Raggio
at Jones Vargas law firm
William J. Raggio Papers
Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raggio, William 1926 births 2012 deaths American politicians of Italian descent Nevada lawyers Republican Party Nevada state senators District attorneys in Nevada Politicians from Reno, Nevada Candidates in the 1970 United States elections University of California, Hastings College of the Law alumni UC Berkeley School of Law alumni Respiratory disease deaths in New South Wales 20th-century American lawyers United States Navy reservists United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps reservists American lawyers and judges of Italian descent