Emil Baensch (June 12, 1857August 17, 1939) was 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, p ...

lawyer, newspaper publisher, and Republican politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He was the 17th

lieutenant governor of Wisconsin The lieutenant governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Wisconsin, line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, ...

Biography

Emil Baensch was born in

Manitowoc, Wisconsin Manitowoc ( ) is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2020 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,626. History Purporte ...

, on June 12, 1857. His father died in 1862, and his mother remarried. Baensch was educated in public and private schools until age 15, when he went to work as a clerk and bookkeeper. He used his earnings to pay for tuition at the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

. He graduated in 1881 and was admitted to the bar the following year. In 1881, he also founded the ''Lake Shore Times'' newspaper as a Republican partisan paper, in partnership with Fred Haukohl. In 1888, he was appointed

county judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civi ...

Manitowoc County Manitowoc County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 81,359. Its county seat is Manitowoc. The county was created in 1836 prior to Wisconsin's statehood and organized in 1848. Manitowoc Co ...

by Governor

Jeremiah McLain Rusk Jeremiah McLain Rusk (June 17, 1830November 21, 1893) was an American Republican politician. He was the second United States secretary of agriculture (1889–1893) and the 15th governor of Wisconsin (1882–1889), and served three terms ...

. He was elected to a full term in the Spring of 1889, running on the Republican Party ticket. In 1894, he won the Republican nomination for

and was elected alongside Governor

William H. Upham William Henry Upham (May 3, 1841July 2, 1924) was an American businessman, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the 18th governor of Wisconsin and served three terms as mayor of Marshfield, Wisconsin. He is the namesake of Upham, Wisconsi ...

. He subsequently won re-election in 1896 and left office in 1899. While serving as lieutenant governor, in 1896, he also became co-owner of the '' Manitowoc Post''. In 1904, Baensch launched a

primary challenge In U.S. politics, a primary challenge is when an incumbent holding elective office is challenged by a member of their own political party in a primary election. Such events, known informally as "being primaried," are noteworthy and not frequent i ...

against incumbent governor

Robert M. La Follette Robert Marion La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), nicknamed "Fighting Bob," was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th governor of Wisconsin from 1901 to 1906. ...

. La Follette was the leader of the progressive wing of the

Republican Party of Wisconsin The Republican Party of Wisconsin is a conservative politics, conservative and Right-wing populism, populist political party in Wisconsin and is the Wisconsin affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party (GOP) ...

, and Baensch was a member of the stalwart/conservative wing. The divide in the party led to a split and a separate Republican ticket in the 1904 general election, but La Follette still won re-election to a third term. He continued running the ''Manitowoc Post'' until 1922, and was also active in the Manitowoc Chamber of Commerce until his death in 1939.

Biography

References

Further reading