William Lorge

Bill Lorge
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 40th district
In office
January 2, 1989 – January 4, 1999
Preceded byFrancis R. Byers
Succeeded byJean Hundertmark
Personal details
Born (1960-08-31) August 31, 1960
Bear Creek, Wisconsin, U.S.
PartyRepublican
Spouse
Molly McGinty
​
​
(m. 1996; div. 2014)​
Children4
Parent
RelativesAnna Lorge Morgan (sister)
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
OccupationPolitician

William D. "Bill" Lorge (born August 31, 1960) is an American real estate broker, farmer, and Republican politician. He served ten years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Wisconsin in 2002.

Early life

Born in Bear Creek, Wisconsin,[1] Lorge graduated from Clintonville High School and then received his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He also attended the Austro-American College in Vienna, Austria.[2]

Career

Lorge has been a real estate broker and a farmer.[2][3] He served as a Congressional aide and a Wisconsin state senate legislative assistant for his father, Gerald Lorge.[4] In 1984 he ran for the 14th District State Senate seat vacated by his father, losing in the primary to business owner Joseph Leean.[5] He served in the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Republican from 1989 until 1999. A 1996 survey of legislators conducted by Madison Magazine rated Lorge poorly in several categories.[6] In 1998 Lorge lost to Jean Hundertmark in the primary.[7] That same year, Lorge submitted the highest expense report of any member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.[8]

In 2002, Lorge entered the Republican gubernatorial primary, challenging incumbent Republican Governor Scott McCallum.[9] He garnered only 8 percent of the vote, as McCallum was renominated.[10]

Lorge is running for state assembly in Wisconsin's 57th Assembly district in 2026.

Personal life

His father, Gerald Lorge, served 30 years in the Wisconsin State Senate.[11] Lorge married Molly McGinty on April 11, 1996, in Bear Creek.[12] They had four children together before divorcing in 2014.[13]

Lorge has worked as an Elvis Presley impersonator.[9] He owned Badgerland MLS, a real estate company.[14]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1984)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
1984 Primary[15] Sep. 11 Joseph Leean Republican 6,948 38.35% William D. Lorge Rep. 6,741 37.21% 18,118 207
Richard O. Wright Rep. 4,000 22.07%
Bernard Bult Rep. 429 2.37%

Wisconsin Treasurer (1986)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
1986 General[16] Nov. 4 Charles P. Smith Democratic 725,009 52.67% William D. Lorge Rep. 601,432 43.69% 1,376,418 123,577
Joan Hollingsworth L&F 49,977 3.63%

Wisconsin Assembly, 40th district (1988–1998)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
1988 Primary[17] Sep. 13 William D. Lorge Republican 3,082 42.58% David C. Harper Rep. 1,681 23.22% 7,239 1,401
Richard M. Lowe Rep. 1,217 16.81%
Katherine J. Hoffman Rep. 945 13.05%
Lyle Craig Bain Rep. 314 4.34%
General[18] Nov. 8 William D. Lorge Republican 13,441 67.81% Delayne I. Green Dem. 6,380 32.19% 19,821 7,061
1990 General[19] Nov. 6 William D. Lorge Republican 9,213 100.0% --unopposed-- 9,213 N/A
1992 Primary[20] Sep. 8 William D. Lorge (inc) Republican 3,991 50.15% Kenneth Van Dyke Sr. Rep. 3,968 49.85% 7,959 23
General[21] Nov. 8 William D. Lorge (inc) Republican 13,684 58.36% Andrew Gussert Dem. 7,395 41.64% 23,446 3,922
1994 Primary[22] Sep. 13 William D. Lorge (inc) Republican 4,356 58.90% James W. Boyer Rep. 3,039 41.10% 7,395 1,317
General[23] Nov. 8 William D. Lorge (inc) Republican 10,146 100.0% --unopposed-- 10,146 N/A
1996 Primary[24] Sep. 10 William D. Lorge (inc) Republican 3,477 48.73% Jean Hundertmark Rep. 1,944 27.25% 7,135 1,533
William E. Mork Rep. 1,714 24.02%
General[25] Nov. 8 William D. Lorge (inc) Republican 13,395 70.89% Cornelius D. Van Handel Dem. 5,500 29.11% 18,895 7,895
1998 Primary[26] Sep. 8 Jean Hundertmark Republican 5,614 53.56% William D. Lorge (inc) Rep. 4,868 46.44% 10,482 746

Wisconsin Senate (1995)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
1995
(special)		 Primary[27] Aug. 15 Robert T. Welch Republican 3,991 50.15% William D. Lorge Rep. 3,968 49.85% 7,959 23

U.S. Senate (2000)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2000 Primary[28] Sep. 12 John Gillespie Republican 135,364 68.04% Bill Lorge Rep. 41,026 20.62% 198,939 94,338
Mark Gumz Rep. 21,698 10.91%

Wisconsin Assembly, 42nd district (2001)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2001
(special)		 Primary[29] Oct. 9 J.A. Hines Republican 1,104 28.66% Bob Van Abel Rep. 890 23.11% 3,852 214
Lance Burri Rep. 873 22.67%
Dave Ament Rep. 556 14.43%
Bill Lorge Rep. 324 8.41%
Frank Cook Rep. 101 2.62%

Wisconsin governor (2002)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2002 Primary[30] Sep. 10 Scott McCallum (inc) Republican 198,525 86.23% Bill Lorge Rep. 18,852 27.25% 230,232 179,673
George Pobuda Rep. 1,714 24.02%

References

  1. ↑ "Senator Shaken as Son is Born in Law Office Archived 2016-04-29 at the Wayback Machine", The Milwaukee Sentinel, September 1, 1960, part 1, p. 21.
  2. 1 2 Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. State of Wisconsin 1997-1998 Blue Book. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Administration, 1997, p. 49.
  3. ↑ Wisconsin Historical Society-William D. Lorge, archived at
  4. ↑ "Why distrust grows Archived 2016-05-10 at the Wayback Machine", The Milwaukee Sentinel, December 6, 1980, part 1, p. 12.
  5. ↑ Elizabeth Brixey. "Anything-can-happen GOP primary aims at Senate", Wisconsin State Journal, August 6, 1995, p. 1C, col. 2.
  6. ↑ Wisconsin’s Best (And Worst) Legislators from Madison Magazine
  7. ↑ Andrew Blasko. "Assemblyman 'Elvis' king of expense reports", Wisconsin State Journal, January 25, 1999, p. 1B, col. 5.
  8. ↑ Blasko. "A state representative who was nicknamed "Elvis" and was the only incumbent to lose the fall primaries reported $17,775 in daily expenses for 1998, the most of any Assembly member that year."
  9. 1 2 "Elvis impersonator running for GOP nomination for governor", The Journal Times, Racine, Wisconsin, June 2, 2002. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). legis.wisconsin.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ↑ "Gerald Lorge dies at 78", The Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin, February 16, 2001, p. 5B.
  12. ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature. State of Wisconsin Assembly Journal Ninety-Second Regular Session, May 8, 1996, p. 1134.
  13. ↑ "Dane County Case Number 2014FA000001 In RE the marriage of Molly M McGinty and William D Lorge". Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. January 2, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Meet the Broker" Archived 2015-07-24 at the Wayback Machine, BadgerlandMLS.com
  15. ↑ Theobald, Rupert H.; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1985). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1985–1986 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 903. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  16. ↑ Theobald, H. Rupert; Barish, Lawrence S., eds. (1987). "Elections in Wisconsin". The State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1987–1988 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 898. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  17. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S.; Theobald, H. Rupert, eds. (1989). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1989–1990 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 910-911. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  18. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S.; Theobald, H. Rupert, eds. (1989). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1989–1990 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 926. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  19. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S.; Theobald, H. Rupert, eds. (1991). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1991–1992 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 916. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  20. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S.; Theobald, H. Rupert, eds. (1993). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1993–1994 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 905. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  21. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S.; Theobald, H. Rupert, eds. (1993). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1993–1994 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 922. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  22. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (1995). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1995–1996 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 904. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  23. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (1995). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1995–1996 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 922. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  24. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (1997). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1997–1998 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 900. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  25. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (1997). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1997–1998 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 904. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  26. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S.; Meloy, Patricia E., eds. (1999). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1999–2000 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 880. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  27. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (1997). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1997–1998 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 888. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  28. ↑ Results of Fall Primary Election - 09/12/2000 (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. September 27, 2000. p. 2. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2026 – via Wayback Machine.
  29. ↑ Special Republican Primary Election – 10/09/2001 (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. October 18, 2001. p. 1. Retrieved June 9, 2026 – via Wisconsin Elections Commission.
  30. ↑ "Results of Fall Primary Election - 09/10/2002". Wisconsin State Elections Board. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
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