John Abner Race (May 12, 1914 – November 9, 1983) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin. He was born in

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Fond du Lac () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 44,678 at the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Fond du Lac United States metrop ...

and graduated from

Fond du Lac High School Fond du Lac High School ("Fondy High") is a comprehensive public high school in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin administered by the Fond du Lac School District. Opened in 2001, the school replaced the former Goodrich High School, which was the city's hi ...

and attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison School for Workers. In 1958, Race was elected to the

Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Fond du Lac County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 104,154. Its county seat is Fond du Lac. The county was created in the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and later organized in 1844. Fond du La ...

Board of Supervisors. He ran unsuccessfully against

Earl F. McEssy Earl Francis McEssy (February 12, 1913 – October 14, 1989) was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Biography McEssy was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He graduated from Marquette University. Additionally, he received an honorary docto ...

for the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1958. He also served on the state vocations board. He came to Congress on the coattails of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 as part of the

89th Congress The 89th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1965, ...

when the Democrats gained a net of 36 seats. From 1965 to 1967 Race served on the House Committee of Interior and Insular Affairs. He was defeated for reelection to the

90th United States Congress The 90th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 196 ...

in 1966 by

William A. Steiger William Albert Steiger (May 15, 1938 – December 4, 1978) was a member of the US House of Representatives from 1967 to his death from a heart attack in Washington, DC, in 1978. He served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican from Wis ...

and also defeated in his run for the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1970. Race was in the machine tool industry, where he operated a crane for the Giddings & Lewis company, and was involved in the

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

, serving as chairman of the bargaining and grievance committee of Local Lodge 1420 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. He was heavily involved with local units of the Democratic Party. He died in Fond du Lac and is interred at the Estabrooks Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Notes

Sources

The Fighting Machinists, A Century of Struggle
by Robert G. Rodden *

United States House elections, 1964 The 1964 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1964 which coincided with the election to a full term of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson's landslide victory over Ba ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Race, John Abner County supervisors in Wisconsin 1914 births 1983 deaths Politicians from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin Burials in Wisconsin 20th-century American politicians