Clifford W. "Tiny" Krueger (June 24, 1918October 15, 1988) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician, businessman, and

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

performer from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He served 34 years in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

representing vast multi-county districts in the northern part of the state.

Circus career

Born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, Krueger graduated from high school in

Merrill, Wisconsin Merrill is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located to the south of and adjacent to the Town of Merrill. The population was 9,347, according to the 2020 census. Merrill is part of the United Sta ...

. Krueger was in the Sheboygan-based Seils-Sterling Circus performing as the fat-boy weighing 425 pounds.

Business and political career

Krueger owned a tavern in Merrill, and served on the Merrill Common Council. He was also a member of the

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...

, and the

Farm Bureau The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), also known as Farm Bureau Insurance and Farm Bureau Inc. but more commonly just the Farm Bureau (FB), is a United States-based insurance company and lobbying group that represents the American agri ...

. In 1942, Krueger was the

Wisconsin Progressive Party The Wisconsin Progressive Party (1934–1946) was a political party that briefly held a dominant role in Wisconsin politics. History The Party was the brainchild of Philip La Follette and Robert M. La Follette, Jr., the sons of the famous Wisco ...

candidate for Wisconsin's 25th State Senate district (having won the Progressive

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

by only twelve votes in a three-way race), losing to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

William McNeight, with 6512 votes to 11,603 for McNeight and 3,437 for

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Donald J. MacCormick. (Republican incumbent

Otto Mueller Otto Müller (16 October 1874 – 24 September 1930) was a German painter and printmaker of the Die Brücke expressionist movement. Life and work Mueller was born in Liebau (now Lubawka, Kamienna Góra County), Kreis Landeshut, Silesia. Betwe ...

had not been a candidate.) In 1946, with the Progressive Party having dissolved, he ran in the Republican

, defeating McNeight and going on to win the general election against McNeight (running as a

write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

candidate) and

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

former Assemblyman Herman Marth. Krueger drew 16,859 votes, to 7,827

write-in votes A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

McNeight and 601 for Marth. Having defeated two challengers in the 1950 primary, he was re-elected in the general election; but his district was split in the next re-apportionment and his term ended in 1955.''The Wisconsin Blue Book 1981,'' p. 37 Biography of Senator Clifford Krueger In 1956, he returned to the Senate from the new 12th District (

Iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

, Lincoln,

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida Na ...

Price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the c ...

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Plac ...

, and Vilas counties),Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., ed. ''The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1958'' Madison: State of Wisconsin, 1958; pp. 671, 776
/ref> and would hold that office continuously until his 1983 retirement. He was the Senate Minority Leader for the Republicans in the 1975, 1977, and 1979 sessions, but said that some Republicans never really forgave him for having started as a Progressive.

Later life

Krueger retired in 1982. He died of hepatitis in 1988 at age 70 in

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city into east and west. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krueger, Clifford Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin People from Merrill, Wisconsin American circus performers Businesspeople from Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin city council members Republican Party Wisconsin state senators 1918 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American politicians Deaths from hepatitis Wisconsin Progressives (1924)