en Orland Steen Loomis

Orland Loomis
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

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]

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

^ "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.

External links

Orland S. Loomis at Wisconsin Historical Society

Legal offices
Preceded by James E. Finnegan	Attorney General of Wisconsin 1937–1939	Succeeded by John E. Martin
Party political offices
Preceded by Philip La Follette	Progressive nominee for Governor of Wisconsin 1940, 1942	Succeeded by Alexander Benz
Political offices
Preceded by Julius P. Heil	Governor-elect of Wisconsin 1942	Succeeded by Walter Samuel Goodland

[1] "Historical Essay - Loomis, Orland Steen 1893 - 1942". Wisconsin Historical Society. August 8, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2023.

[%253A0-2] togetherweserved.com – 1LT Orland Steen Loomis. Retrieved August 6, 2013

[1935elex-3] "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1935 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 1935. p. 547. Retrieved March 21, 2023.

[1937elex-4] "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1937 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 1937. pp. 351. Retrieved March 21, 2023.

[1940elex-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. December 2003. Retrieved March 21, 2023.

[1929bio-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.

[1931elex-8] "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1931 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. 1931. pp. 567, 568. Retrieved March 21, 2023.

[1942elex-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.

[1944elex-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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]