Bronson La Follette

Who is Bronson La Follette?

Bronson Cutting La Follette was Attorney General of the state of Wisconsin. La Follette was a candidate for governor of Wisconsin in 1968 as a Democrat.

Born in Washington, D.C., he was the son of United States Senator Robert M. La Follette, Jr. and Rachel Wilson Young, and the grandson of United States Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr. of Wisconsin. He was named in memory of Sen. Bronson Cutting of New Mexico, a friend of Sen. La Follette who died in an airplane crash in 1935.

La Follette received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1958 and a law degree in 1960. He was elected attorney general for two two-year terms from 1965 to 1969 and three four-year terms from 1975 to 1987. He challenged incumbent Republican Governor Warren P. Knowles in 1968 and lost. He ran for and was again elected Attorney General in 1974. Despite a 1981 conviction for drunk driving, he was re-elected handily in 1982. After his 1986 defeat following an ethics investigation, he retired from public service and now lives in Madison.