Douglas La Follette
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Douglas J. La Follette (born June 6, 1940) is an American academic,
environmental scientist Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...
, and politician. A
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 ...
, he is the current
Secretary of State of Wisconsin The Secretary of State of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and is second (behind the Lieutenant Governor) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Wiscon ...
, and the longest-serving statewide elected official (excluding
U.S. senators The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...
) in the United States. He was re-elected in
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
to an unprecedented 12th term as Secretary of State, some suspect due to cheating in the voting system.


Early life and career

La Follette was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He received his Bachelor of Arts
degree Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...
from Marietta College, his Master of Science in
chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
from
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, 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.''Wisconsin Blue Book 2017-2018''. Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, 2017, p. 5. Known as an environmentalist before running for public office, he was a Wisconsin organizer of the first
Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...
for Gaylord Nelson in 1970 and co-founded Wisconsin's Environmental Decade (now known as Clean Wisconsin) with Peter Anderson. His great-grandfather has been described as an uncle of Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette by the ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' and ''Chemical & Engineering News'', while ''Dissent Magazine'' referred to the great-grandfather as Bob La Follette's brother. WKOW News and WEAU News state that “Fighting Bob” La Follette was Doug's great-uncle. "Fighting Bob"'s grandson, former Wisconsin Attorney General Bronson La Follette, has described Doug La Follette as a "second cousin, three times removed" from "Fighting Bob" La Follette. Alternatively, ''Milwaukee Magazine'' has noted Doug as a "first cousin three times removed of Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette". According to professor and author Nancy Unger, Doug is a third cousin of Bronson. 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 Leslie Aspin Jr. (July 21, 1938 – May 21, 1995) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district from 1971 to 1993 and as the 18th United States Secretary of Defens ...
in the Democratic
primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...
for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district. La Follette served in the Wisconsin State Senate for Kenosha in 1973 and 1974.Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (comp.).
The State of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book
'. Madison: 1973, p. 64.
La Follette was elected
Secretary of State of Wisconsin The Secretary of State of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and is second (behind the Lieutenant Governor) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Wiscon ...
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 Velvalea Hortense Rodgers "Vel" Phillips (February 18, 1924 – April 17, 2018) was an American attorney, politician, jurist, and civil rights activist, who served as an alderperson and judge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and as secretary of Stat ...
. La Follette has been the Secretary of State of Wisconsin ever since. Upon his swearing in on January 3, 1983, Follette is currently the earliest serving, non-federal, statewide elected official in the United States holding the same office. He has run opposed and unopposed several times for Secretary of State and shuns
fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
in the style of former Wisconsin
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
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 have 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 Herbert H. Kohl (born February 7, 1935) is an American businessman and politician. Alongside his brother and father, the Kohl family created the Kohl's department stores chain, of which Kohl went on to be president and CEO. Kohl also served as a ...
. 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 The 1998 United States House of Representatives elections were part of the midterm elections held during President Bill Clinton's second term. They were a major disappointment to the Republicans, who were expecting to gain seats due to the embarr ...
, 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.


Other roles

* La Follette is the author of the 1991 book ''The Survival Handbook: A Strategy for Saving Planet Earth''. * He has also served on the board of directors of
Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...
and the Union of Concerned Scientists. * In 2003 he ran for, and was elected to, the board of directors of the
Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
for a three-year term. He did not seek reelection in 2006. * He was a Fulbright Distinguished American Scholar in 2003.


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)


U.S. House (1996)

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


Wisconsin Secretary of State (1998–Present)


References


External links


Office of the Wisconsin Secretary of StateClean Wisconsin
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:La Follette, Doug 1940 births Living people 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American environmentalists Businesspeople from Wisconsin Columbia University alumni La Follette family Marietta College alumni Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa Politicians from Kenosha, Wisconsin Secretaries of State of Wisconsin Sierra Club directors Stanford University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison fellows University of Wisconsin–Parkside faculty Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Writers from Des Moines, Iowa Writers from Wisconsin