Gerald David Lorge (July 9, 1922February 14, 2001) was an American lawyer and

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 ...

politician. He served 30 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 Outagamie and Waupaca counties, and earlier served four years in the

State Assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Baili ...

. At the time of his death, he was the fifth longest-serving member of the Wisconsin Senate.

Early life

Born in

Bear Creek, Outagamie County, Wisconsin Bear Creek is a village in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 448 at the 2010 census. History The community began as a lumber camp in 1850 when Captain Welcome Hyde, a lumberman, located on the bank of the Embarrass Ri ...

, Lorge graduated from Bear Creek High School and worked briefly at the YMCA before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1942, he enlisted for service in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and, in 1943, was deployed to the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

with the

4th Marine Aircraft Wing The 4th Marine Aircraft Wing is the reserve airwing of the United States Marine Corps. It is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana but its subordinate units are scattered throughout the United States. Mission Conduct air operations in support ...

. In early 1944, he was injured and spent several weeks at a naval hospital on

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

. Afterward, he was reassigned to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, and subsequently received an honorable discharge.

Career

Lorge was one of three Republicans challenging incumbent Assemblymember William M. Rohan in the 1950

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 * ...

. Rohan had long been a member of the Democratic Party, but had run as a Republican since 1946, after the collapse of 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 Wiscon ...

. Lorge prevailed in the four-way primary, and won the general election with 59% of the vote, with Rohan in the race as an independent candidate. Rohan returned for a head-to-head contest in the 1952 Republican primary, but Lorge prevailed again. In 1946, he had begun attending

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

but did not complete a degree before being elected to the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

. Following the end of the spring 1951 legislative session, however, he returned to Marquette and received his J.D. in 1952. He started a law practice in Bear Creek that year, and was re-elected to the Assembly that Fall. In 1954, State Senator Gordon A. Bubolz resigned, necessitating a 1954

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

to fill the remaining two years of his term. Lorge won a contested Republican primary and was unopposed in the November election. He was subsequently elected to a full term in 1956, and was re-elected six more times. After the death of U.S. Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...

in 1957, Lorge ran in the Republican

to serve out the remainder of his term, but came in a distant 6th place. In 1974, Lorge made another attempt at statewide election, running for

Attorney General of Wisconsin The Attorney General of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Forty-five individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Josh Kaul, ...

. He was unopposed for the Republican nomination, but lost the general election to

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 Wisconsi ...

, who was returning to the office he had previously held in the 1960s. In the 1980s, Wisconsin underwent a painful redistricting process as the Governor and Legislature were unable to agree on a map. The issue was referred to federal courts, and a court-ordered map was implemented in 1982. Prompted by the court's map, which eviscerated existing legislative districts, the Legislature came back and agreed on a replacement map in 1983. After these edits, Lorge's 14th State Senate district had been radically redrawn. For the previous 30 years, the district had been anchored on his native Outagamie County and neighboring Waupaca County. In 1983, the district now barely contained any of Outagamie County, and stretched all the way across central Wisconsin to

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

. Rather than run for another term in the mangled district, Lorge, who was then the most senior member of the State Senate, chose to retire. His son,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, attempted a run in the new Senate district, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Waupaca businessman

Joseph Leean Joseph S. "Joe" Leean (born March 10, 1942) is an American businessman and retired Republican politician. He served as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services for seven years under Governor Tommy Thompson and was inst ...

. After leaving the Senate, Lorge made one final bid for elected office in 1985, running for

Wisconsin circuit court The Wisconsin circuit courts are the general trial courts in the state of Wisconsin. There are currently 69 circuits in the state, divided into 10 judicial administrative districts. Circuit court judges hear and decide both civil and criminal case ...

judge in Outagamie County, but was defeated in the primary. Lorge devoted more time to his law practice after leaving public office, and welcomed his son, Robert, as a partner in the firm, now known as Lorge & Lorge.

Personal life

He married Christina "Tina" Ziegler in 1958. Together, they had two sons and three daughters. William served five terms in the

. Robert was the Republican nominee in the

2006 United States Senate election in Wisconsin The 2006 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Herb Kohl won re-election to his fourth and final term in a landslide. As of 2022, this is the most recent election where a candidat ...

, but lost to incumbent senator

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 ...

. Lorge died at his home in Bear Creek, Wisconsin, in February 2001.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1950, 1952)

U.S. Senate (1957)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Republican Primary, July 30, 1957

Wisconsin Attorney General (1974)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1974

Wisconsin Senate (1954–1980)

Outagamie County Circuit Judge (1985)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Nonpartisan Primary, February 19, 1985 (top-two)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorge, Gerald 1922 births 2001 deaths People from Outagamie County, Wisconsin Marquette University alumni Marquette University Law School alumni Wisconsin lawyers Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party Wisconsin state senators Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Marines United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers