Gerald David Lorge (July 9, 1922February 14, 2001) was an American lawyer and Republican politician. He served 30 years in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

, representing Outagamie and Waupaca counties, and earlier served four years in the

State Assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Baili ...

. At the time of his death, he was the fifth longest-serving member of the Wisconsin Senate.

Early life

Born in

Bear Creek, Outagamie County, Wisconsin Bear Creek is a village in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 427 at the 2020 census. History The community began as a lumber camp in 1850 when Captain Welcome Hyde, a lumberman, located on the bank of the Embarrass ...

, Lorge graduated from Bear Creek High School and worked briefly at the YMCA before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1942, he enlisted for service in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

and, in 1943, was deployed to the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

with the

4th Marine Aircraft Wing The 4th Marine Aircraft Wing is the reserve airwing of the United States Marine Corps. It is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana but its subordinate units are scattered throughout the United States. Mission Conduct air operations in sup ...

. In early 1944, he was injured and spent several weeks at a naval hospital on

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

. Afterward, he was reassigned to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, and subsequently received an honorable discharge.

Career

Lorge was one of three Republicans challenging incumbent Assemblymember William M. Rohan in the 1950

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 Work ...

. Rohan had long been a member of the Democratic Party, but had run as a Republican since 1946, after the collapse of the

Wisconsin Progressive Party The Wisconsin Progressive Party (1934–1946) was a political third party that briefly held a major role in Wisconsin politics under the two sons of the late Robert M. La Follette. It was on the political left wing, and it sometimes cooperated wit ...

. Lorge prevailed in the four-way primary, and won the general election with 59% of the vote, with Rohan in the race as an independent candidate. Rohan returned for a head-to-head contest in the 1952 Republican primary, but Lorge prevailed again. In 1946, he had begun attending

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

but did not complete a degree before being elected to 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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

. Following the end of the spring 1951 legislative session, however, he returned to Marquette and received his J.D. in 1952. He started a law practice in Bear Creek that year, and was re-elected to the Assembly that Fall. In 1954, State Senator Gordon A. Bubolz resigned, necessitating a 1954

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to fill the remaining two years of his term. Lorge won a contested Republican primary and was unopposed in the November election. He was subsequently elected to a full term in 1956, and was re-elected six more times. After the death of U.S. Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

in 1957, Lorge ran in the Republican

to serve out the remainder of his term, but came in a distant 6th place. In 1974, Lorge made another attempt at statewide election, running for

Attorney General of Wisconsin The attorney general of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of Wisconsin, government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Forty-five individuals have held the office of attorney general since statehood. The ...

. He was unopposed for the Republican nomination, but lost the general election to

Bronson La Follette Bronson Cutting La Follette (February 2, 1936 – March 15, 2018) was an American Democratic lawyer and politician. He was the 36th and 39th Attorney General of the state of Wisconsin and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Wisconsin ...

, who was returning to the office he had previously held in the 1960s. In the 1980s, Wisconsin underwent a painful redistricting process as the Governor and Legislature were unable to agree on a map. The issue was referred to federal courts, and a court-ordered map was implemented in 1982. Prompted by the court's map, which eviscerated existing legislative districts, the Legislature came back and agreed on a replacement map in 1983. After these edits, Lorge's 14th State Senate district had been radically redrawn. For the previous 30 years, the district had been anchored on his native Outagamie County and neighboring Waupaca County. In 1983, the district now barely contained any of Outagamie County, and stretched all the way across central Wisconsin to Monroe County. Rather than run for another term in the mangled district, Lorge, who was then the most senior member of the State Senate, chose to retire. His son,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, attempted a run in the new Senate district, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Waupaca businessman

Joseph Leean Joseph S. "Joe" Leean (born March 10, 1942) is an American businessman and retired Republican politician. He served as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services for seven years under Governor Tommy Thompson and was ins ...

. After leaving the Senate, Lorge made one final bid for elected office in 1985, running for

Wisconsin circuit court The Wisconsin circuit courts are the general trial courts in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. There are currently 69 circuits in the state, divided into 9 judicial administrative districts. Circuit court judges hear and decide both civil and crimina ...

judge in Outagamie County, but was defeated in the primary. Lorge devoted more time to his law practice after leaving public office, and welcomed his son, Robert, as a partner in the firm, now known as Lorge & Lorge.

Personal life

He married Christina "Tina" Ziegler in 1958. Together, they had two sons and three daughters. William served five terms in the

. Robert was the Republican nominee in the

2006 United States Senate election in Wisconsin The 2006 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic U.S. Senator Herb Kohl won re-election to his fourth and final term in a landslide. As of , this is the most r ...

, but lost to incumbent senator

Herb Kohl Herbert Hiken Kohl (February 7, 1935 – December 27, 2023) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served 24 years as a United States senator from Wisconsin, from 1989 to 2013, and ...

. Lorge died at his home in Bear Creek, Wisconsin, in February 2001.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1950, 1952)

U.S. Senate (1957)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Republican Primary, July 30, 1957

Wisconsin Attorney General (1974)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1974

Wisconsin Senate (1954–1980)

Outagamie County Circuit Judge (1985)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Nonpartisan Primary, February 19, 1985 (top-two)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorge, Gerald 1922 births 2001 deaths People from Outagamie County, Wisconsin Marquette University alumni Marquette University Law School alumni Wisconsin lawyers Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party Wisconsin state senators Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Marines United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature