Orland Steen Loomis

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 byJulius P. Heil
Succeeded byWalter Samuel Goodland
28th Attorney General of Wisconsin
In office
January 4, 1937 – January 2, 1939
GovernorPhilip La Follette
Preceded byJames E. Finnegan
Succeeded byJohn E. Martin
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 31st district
In office
January 5, 1931 – January 7, 1935
Preceded byHoward Teasdale
Succeeded byJames Earl Leverich
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Juneau district
In office
January 7, 1929 – January 5, 1931
Preceded byArchibald Telfer
Succeeded byBen Tremain
Personal details
Born
Orland Steen Loomis

(1893-11-02)November 2, 1893
Mauston, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedDecember 7, 1942(1942-12-07) (aged 49)
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyWisconsin Progressive (1934–1942)
Republican (before 1934)
SpouseFlorence Ely
Children3
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison (LLB)
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1918–1919
RankFirst Lieutenant
UnitAmerican Expeditionary Forces
Battles/warsWorld War I

Biography

Orland 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

Loomis 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

Wisconsin Assembly (1928)
Wisconsin Assembly, Juneau District Election, 1928[7]
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)
Wisconsin Senate, 31st District Election, 1930[8]
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)
Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1934[3]
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%
Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1936[4]
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%
Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1938[5]
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)
Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election, 1940[9]
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%
Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election, 1942[10]
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
  1. "Historical Essay - Loomis, Orland Steen 1893 - 1942". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  2. togetherweserved.com – 1LT Orland Steen Loomis. Retrieved August 6, 2013
  3. "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1935 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 1935. p. 547. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  4. "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1937 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 1937. pp. 351. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  5. 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.
  6. "Painting - Orland S. Loomis". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  7. 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.
  8. "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1931 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. 1931. pp. 567, 568. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
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