John T. Kostuck (October 7, 1892 – August 2, 1960) was an American salesman,

piano tuner Piano tuning is the act of adjusting the tension of the strings of an acoustic piano so that the musical intervals between strings are in tune. The meaning of the term 'in tune', in the context of piano tuning, is not simply a particular fixed ...

, and legislator. Born in

Stevens Point, Wisconsin Stevens Point is the county seat of Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. The city was incorporated in 1858. Its 2020 population of 25,666 makes it the largest city in the county. Stevens Point forms the core of the United States Census Bur ...

, Kostuck was blinded at age fourteen in a blasting accident while working on a farm. Kostuck went to the Wisconsin School for the Blind for his high school education. Kostuck then went to

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison ...

and then taught high school at the

Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, located in Staunton, Virginia, United States, is an institution for educating deaf and blind children, first established in 1839 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly. The school accepts child ...

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

. He then became a salesman and piano tuner in Stevens Point.

Political life

Kostuck ran in the 1926

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 ...

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 ...

for

Wisconsin's 8th congressional district Wisconsin's 8th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northeastern Wisconsin. It is currently represented by Mike Gallagher, a Republican. Gallagher won the open seat vacated by Re ...

against incumbent

Edward E. Browne Edward Everts Browne (February 16, 1868 – November 23, 1945) was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin. Born in Waupaca, Wisconsin, Browne attended the public schools and Waupaca High School. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madi ...

, in a district so Republican that neither the

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 ...

nor the

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 ...

had the right to appear on the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

ballot; he came in a distant third in a three-way race. He tried again in 1928, receiving 22.3% of the vote in a head-to-head contest with Browne. In 1930 he chose instead to run for the Republican nomination for the Portage County seat in 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, ...

as a

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

. He won his party's nomination, and unseated Democratic incumbent Michael Mersch, becoming the first blind member of Wisconsin's legislature. He would be re-elected fourteen times to that seat, the first time (1930) as a Republican, the next four times (1934-1940) as a member of the newly created

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 ...

. In 1942, he switched his affiliation to the Democratic Party, and ran unopposed in both the primary and general elections, as he would in every subsequent election through 1958. He died in Stevens Point in 1960 while still in office and was succeeded by fellow Democrat Norman Myhra (himself disabled; he had lost both hands in combat during

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 ...

)Toepel, M. G.; Theobald, H. Rupert, eds. ''The Wisconsin blue book, 1962'' Madison: State of Wisconsin, 1962; p. 58
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostuck, John 1892 births 1960 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople American blind people American politicians with disabilities Blind politicians Businesspeople from Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Stevens Point, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Wisconsin Democrats Wisconsin Progressives (1924) Wisconsin Republicans Piano tuners