Julia Sheehan Donoghue (born December 13, 1943) is a retired 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 from

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 ...

. She was a member of 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, ...

for six terms, from 1973 through 1985. She later served more than a decade as a division head at the

Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) is an agency of the Wisconsin state government responsible for providing services to Wisconsin workers, employers, and job-seekers to meet Wisconsin's workforce needs. To effect its mission, ...

. She is a granddaughter of Illinois politician and judge Francis E. Donoghue, and a descendant of Merrill pioneer Leonard Niles Anson.

Biography

Donoghue was born on December 13, 1943, in

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Ohio, United States. Located north of Cincinnati, Hamilton is the second largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area and the 10th largest city in Ohio. The population was 63,399 at th ...

. Her parents were natives of

, and returned there shortly after her birth. Donoghue graduated from Merrill High School in 1962 and went on to attend the

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 ...

, where she earned her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in political science in 1967.

Political career

She became involved with the

Republican Party of Wisconsin The Republican Party of Wisconsin is a right-wing political party in Wisconsin and is the Wisconsin affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The state party chair is Paul Farrow. The state party is divided into 72 county parties f ...

from a young age, and went to work as a research associate at the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

after her college graduation. She was subsequently employed by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health The 1969 White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health was a historic first and resulted in landmark legislation. In his opening address on December 2, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon vowed “to put an end to hunger in America…for all ...

, then served as a management analyst with the New York Department of Health's bureau of lead poisoning control and preventive medicine, ultimately returning to Wisconsin in 1971. Shortly after returning to Wisconsin, she resumed her interest in politics, and in 1972 she ran for

in the newly-drawn 35th Assembly district. At the time, the district comprised all of Lincoln County, most of

Langlade County Langlade County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,491. Its county seat is Antigo. History Langlade County was created on March 3, 1879, as New County. It was renamed Langlade Cou ...

, and the western half of Oneida County, and no incumbent member lived within the boundaries of the new district. She defeated two opponents in the

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 * ...

, and went on to win the general election with 53% of the vote. She was re-elected four times in her original district and was elected to a sixth term in what was then the 61st Assembly district after the 1982 court-ordered

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

. During the 1983 legislative term, she ran in a

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 ...

for

Wisconsin 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 ...

to replace

Clifford Krueger Clifford W. "Tiny" Krueger (June 24, 1918October 15, 1988) was an American politician, businessman, and circus performer from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He served 34 years in the Wisconsin State Senate representing vast multi-county districts ...

, who had retired unexpectedly. She lost the election to Democrat

Lloyd H. Kincaid Lloyd Harvard Kincaid (May 8, 1925November 1, 2007) was an Americans, American politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Wisconsin State Senate. Early life Kincaid was born on May 8, 1925, in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich ...

, and the defeat caused her to re-evaluate her future. Rather than running for another term in the Assembly in 1984, Donoghue left politics and entered law school at her alma mater. She earned her J.D. from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...

in 1987, and subsequently worked for several years as a lawyer in

Walworth County, Wisconsin Walworth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,478. Its county seat is Elkhorn. The county was created in 1836 from Wisconsin Territory and organized in 1839. It is named for Re ...

Later years

In 1991, she was appointed administrator of the division of administrative services in the Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations. Shortly after, she transitioned to become administrator of the department's equal rights division where she remained until her retirement. Donoghue remained vocal in politics. During the

2000 Republican Party presidential primaries From January 24 to June 6, 2000, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 2000 United States presidential election. Texas Governor George W. Bush was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and ...

, she was active in supporting the campaign of Arizona senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

. In the

2012 United States Senate election in Wisconsin The 2012 United States Senate election in Wisconsin took place on November 6, 2012, alongside a U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local election ...

, she supported her former colleague

Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American Republican politician who most recently served as interim president of the University of Wisconsin System from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served ...

. After retiring from state government, Donoghue returned to northern Wisconsin, and still resides in rural

Plum Lake, Wisconsin Plum Lake is a town in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 486 at the 2000 census. The census-designated place of Sayner and the unincorporated community of Star Lake are located in the town. Demographics As of the censu ...

Personal life and family

Sheehan Donoghue was one of four daughters of Leonard Anson Donoghue and his wife Julia (' Kelley) Donoghue. Leonard Anson Donoghue was the son of Francis E. Donoghue, who served in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

and served as a municipal judge in Chicago. On his mother's side, Leonard Donoghue was a grandson of Leonard Niles Anson, who was an important pioneer of the city of Merrill, having founded the Gilkey Anson Company, organized the First National Bank of Merrill and the Lincoln County Bank, and served as mayor of Merrill in the 1890s. Sheehan Donoghue never married, and hosted her parents in her home in their later years.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly, 35th district (1972–1980)

Wisconsin Assembly, 61st district (1982)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1982

Wisconsin Senate (1983)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Special Election, April 5, 1983

References

1943 births Living people Politicians from Hamilton, Ohio People from Merrill, Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Wisconsin lawyers Catholic politicians from Wisconsin 20th-century American women politicians American people of Irish descent {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Republican-1940s-stub