William D. "Bill" Lorge (born August 31, 1960) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

real estate broker, farmer, 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 ten years 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, ...

, and was an unsuccessful candidate for

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

in 2002.

Early life

Born in Bear Creek, Wisconsin, Lorge graduated from Clintonville High School and then received his

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 ...

from 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 ...

. He also attended the Austro-American College in

Vienna, Austria en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Career

Lorge has been a real estate broker and a farmer.Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau.
State of Wisconsin 1997-1998 Blue Book
'. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Administration, 1997, p. 49. He served as a Congressional aide and a Wisconsin state senate legislative assistant for his father. In 1984 he ran for the 14th District State Senate seat vacated by his father, losing in the primary to Joseph Leean. He served in the

as a

from 1989 until 1999. A 1996 survey of legislators conducted by Madison Magazine rated Lorge poorly in several categories. In 1998 Lorge lost to Jean Hundertmark in the primary. That same year, Lorge submitted the highest expense report of any member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. In 2002, Lorge entered the Republican gubernatorial primary, challenging incumbent Republican Governor

Scott McCallum James Scott McCallum (born May 2, 1950) is an American businessman and former politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 43rd governor of Wisconsin, ascending from the Lieutenant Governorship when Tommy Thompson resigned in 2001 ...

. He garnered only 8 percent of the vote, as McCallum was renominated.

Personal life

His father, Gerald Lorge, 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 ...

. Lorge married Molly McGinty on April 11, 1996, in Bear Creek. They had four children together before divorcing in 2014. Lorge has worked as an

Elvis Presley impersonator An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and singer Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the world as ent ...

.Elvis impersonator running for GOP nomination for governor
, ''The Journal Times'', Racine, Wisconsin, June 2, 2002. Retrieved July 19, 2015. He owns Badgerland MLS, a real estate company."Meet the Broker"
BadgerlandMLS.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorge, William 1960 births Living people People from Outagamie County, Wisconsin Businesspeople from Wisconsin Farmers from Wisconsin Elvis impersonators University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly