Orland Steen "Spike" Loomis (November 2, 1893 – December 7, 1942) was an American lawyer and progressive politician from Juneau County, Wisconsin. He was elected to be the 31st Governor of Wisconsin in 1942, but died before taking office. He previously served as the 28th Attorney General of Wisconsin. He was elected as Attorney General and Governor running on the Wisconsin Progressive Party ticket, but had previously served in the State Senate and Assembly as a Republican.[1]
Orland Loomis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor-elect of Wisconsin | |
| Died before assuming office | |
| Preceded by | Julius P. Heil |
| Succeeded by | Walter Samuel Goodland |
| 28th Attorney General of Wisconsin | |
| In office January 4, 1937 – January 2, 1939 | |
| Governor | Philip La Follette |
| Preceded by | James E. Finnegan |
| Succeeded by | John E. Martin |
| Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 31st district | |
| In office January 5, 1931 – January 7, 1935 | |
| Preceded by | Howard Teasdale |
| Succeeded by | James Earl Leverich |
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Juneau district | |
| In office January 7, 1929 – January 5, 1931 | |
| Preceded by | Archibald Telfer |
| Succeeded by | Ben Tremain |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Orland Steen Loomis November 2, 1893 Mauston, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | December 7, 1942 (aged 49) Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Wisconsin Progressive (1934–1942) Republican (before 1934) |
| Spouse | Florence Ely |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of Wisconsin, Madison (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1918–1919 |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Unit | American Expeditionary Forces |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Biography
editOrland Loomis was born in Mauston, Wisconsin. He attended Ripon College and then received his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1917. He joined the United States Army in the midst of World War I and was stationed in France with the American Expeditionary Forces.[2] After the war, he returned to Mauston to practice law, and also served as the city attorney from 1922 to 1931. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1928 and the Wisconsin State Senate in 1930, running on the Republican Party ticket.
In 1934, he joined the new Wisconsin Progressive Party, along with many other progressive Republicans. Rather than running for re-election in the Senate in 1934, he ran for the Progressive nomination for Attorney General of Wisconsin, but fell 10,000 votes short in the primary.[3] Following his defeat, he accepted an appointment as the state director of the Rural Electrification Administration, and served in that role for two years. He ran again for Attorney General in 1936, and this time won the nomination and the general election.[4] He served as Attorney General from 1937 through 1939, but was defeated running for re-election in the 1938 general election.[5]
In 1940, he ran for Governor of Wisconsin, challenging the Republican incumbent Julius Heil. He fell 12,000 votes short in the general election. He ran again in 1942, and this time defeated Heil by over 100,000 votes. He died suddenly of a heart attack a month before he was to take office, and the Republican Lieutenant Governor Walter Samuel Goodland served all of Loomis's term as acting governor.[6]
Personal life and legacy
editLoomis married Florence Marie Ely on June 22, 1918. They had three children. Orland Steen Loomis and his wife are buried in Mauston.
In 1943, the Liberty Ship SS Orland Loomis was named after him.[2]
Loomis Road (Wisconsin Highway 36) in Milwaukee County is named after him.
Electoral history
editWisconsin Assembly (1928)
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 6, 1928 | |||||
| Republican | Orland S. Loomis | 4,196 | 73.60% | ||
| Democratic | Robert Timbers | 1,505 | 26.40% | ||
| Plurality | 2,691 | 47.20% | |||
| Total votes | 5,701 | 100.0% | +57.92% | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
Wisconsin Senate (1930)
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican Primary, September 1930 | |||||
| Republican | Orland S. Loomis | 9,030 | 56.42% | ||
| Republican | Robert B. Wood | 4,153 | 25.95% | ||
| Republican | Henry W. Barker | 1,791 | 11.19% | ||
| Republican | Ernest T. Wyatt | 1,031 | 6.44% | ||
| Plurality | 4,877 | 30.47% | |||
| Total votes | 16,005 | 100.0% | |||
| General Election, November 4, 1930 | |||||
| Republican | Orland S. Loomis | 9,940 | 96.62% | ||
| Prohibition | A. C. Papst | 348 | 3.38% | ||
| Plurality | 9,592 | 93.23% | -5.62% | ||
| Total votes | 10,288 | 100.0% | +2.92% | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
Wisconsin Attorney General (1934, 1936, 1938)
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Primary, September 1934 | |||||
| Progressive | Fred M. Wylie | 53,643 | 39.29% | ||
| Progressive | Orland S. Loomis | 43,260 | 31.68% | ||
| Progressive | Walter A. Graunke | 39,629 | 29.03% | ||
| Plurality | 10,383 | 30.47% | |||
| Total votes | 136,532 | 100.0% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Primary, September 1936 | |||||
| Progressive | Orland S. Loomis | 90,920 | 57.85% | +26.17% | |
| Progressive | William H. Markham | 66,240 | 42.15% | ||
| Plurality | 24,680 | 15.70% | +8.10% | ||
| Total votes | 157,160 | 100.0% | +15.11% | ||
| General Election, November 3, 1936 | |||||
| Progressive | Orland S. Loomis | 394,252 | 36.10% | +1.02% | |
| Democratic | James E. Finnegan (incumbent) | 353,642 | 32.38% | −2.95% | |
| Republican | Herman C. Runge | 339,502 | 31.09% | +8.43% | |
| Socialist Labor | Abe Fisher | 4,691 | 0.43% | ||
| Plurality | 40,610 | 3.72% | +3.47% | ||
| Total votes | 1,092,087 | 100.0% | +26.28% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 8, 1938 | |||||
| Republican | John E. Martin | 431,678 | 48.04% | +16.96% | |
| Progressive | Orland S. Loomis (incumbent) | 316,657 | 35.24% | −0.86% | |
| Democratic | James E. Finnegan | 339,502 | 16.52% | −15.86% | |
| Socialist Labor | Adolf Wiggert | 1,758 | 0.20% | −0.23% | |
| Plurality | 115,021 | 12.80% | +9.08% | ||
| Total votes | 898,519 | 100.0% | -17.72% | ||
Wisconsin Governor (1940, 1942)
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Primary, September 1940 | |||||
| Progressive | Orland S. Loomis | 50,699 | 33.05% | ||
| Progressive | Harold E. Stafford | 41,311 | 26.93% | ||
| Progressive | Philip E. Nelson | 24,485 | 15.96% | ||
| Progressive | Paul R. Alfonsi | 22,531 | 14.69% | ||
| Progressive | Henry A. Gunderson | 14,372 | 9.37% | ||
| Plurality | 9,388 | 6.12% | -54.30% | ||
| Total votes | 153,398 | 100.0% | -9.72% | ||
| General Election, November 5, 1940 | |||||
| Republican | Julius P. Heil (incumbent) | 558,678 | 40.67% | −14.72% | |
| Progressive | Orland S. Loomis | 546,436 | 39.78% | +3.77% | |
| Democratic | Francis E. McGovern | 264,985 | 19.29% | +11.30% | |
| Communist | Fred Basset Blair | 2,340 | 0.17% | ||
| Socialist Labor | Louis Fisher | 1,158 | 0.08% | −0.06% | |
| Scattering | 157 | 0.01% | +0.01% | ||
| Plurality | 12,242 | 0.89% | -18.50% | ||
| Total votes | 1,373,754 | 100.0% | +39.96% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 3, 1942 | |||||
| Progressive | Orland S. Loomis | 397,664 | 49.65% | +9.87% | |
| Republican | Julius P. Heil (incumbent) | 291,945 | 36.45% | −4.22% | |
| Democratic | William C. Sullivan | 98,153 | 12.25% | −7.04% | |
| Socialist | Frank Zeidler | 11,295 | 1.41% | ||
| Communist | Fred Basset Blair | 1,092 | 0.14% | −0.03% | |
| Socialist Labor | Georgia Cozzini | 490 | 0.06% | −0.02% | |
| Scattering | 346 | 0.04% | +0.03% | ||
| Plurality | 105,719 | 13.20% | +12.31% | ||
| Total votes | 800,985 | 100.0% | -41.69% | ||
References
edit- ^ "Historical Essay - Loomis, Orland Steen 1893 - 1942". Wisconsin Historical Society. August 8, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ a b togetherweserved.com – 1LT Orland Steen Loomis. Retrieved August 6, 2013
- ^ a b "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1935 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 1935. p. 547. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ a b "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1937 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 1937. pp. 351. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ a b Ohm, Howard F.; Bryham, Leone G., eds. (1940). "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1940 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 610. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ "Painting - Orland S. Loomis". Wisconsin Historical Society. December 2003. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Anderson, William J.; Anderson, William A., eds. (1929). "Members of the Legislature". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1929 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. p. 553. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1931 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. 1931. pp. 567, 568. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Ohm, Howard F.; Bryham, Leone G., eds. (1942). "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1942 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 578, 656. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Ohm, Howard F.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1944). "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1944 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 504, 572. Retrieved March 21, 2023.