Long-Time Wisconsin Secretary of State Retiring

Monday, March 20th, 2023 -- 9:13 AM

(By Shawn Johnson, Wisconsin Public Radio) -Doug La Follette, Wisconsin's longtime secretary of state who has held the job for more than 44 years, announced Friday he is retiring just months into his latest term.

According to Shawn Johnson with Wisconsin Public Radio, former Wisconsin Treasurer Sarah Godlewski has been appointed by Gov. Tony Evers to replace him. La Follette, 82, was first elected in 1974, left for four years following a failed bid for lieutenant governor in 1978, then won again in 1982.

He’s held the office ever since. La Follette ran for reelection last year because he said it was important to keep his office in Democratic hands at a time when Republicans around the country were giving secretaries of state more power to run elections.

He defeated Republican challenger Amy Loudenbeck by the narrowest of margins, just 7,442 votes out of more than 2.6 million votes cast. Godlewski, 41, won her first race for treasurer in 2018. She ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate last year, dropping out of the race shortly before the August primary.

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