Stewart G. Honeck
33rd Attorney General of Wisconsin
In office
January 7, 1957 – January 5, 1959
Preceded byVernon Wallace Thomson
Succeeded byJohn W. Reynolds Jr.
Personal details
Born
Stewart George Honeck Jr.

(1906-12-25)December 25, 1906
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMarch 27, 1999(1999-03-27) (aged 92)
Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
Resting placeWisconsin Memorial Park, Brookfield, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Lillian Carter Sewall
​
​
(m. 1939⁠–⁠1999)​
Children4
EducationMarquette University Law School
ProfessionLawyer

Stewart George Honeck Jr. (December 25, 1906 – March 27, 1999) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. He was the 33rd attorney general of Wisconsin, serving from 1957 to 1959.

Biography

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Honeck graduated from Riverside High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and went on to earn his LL.B. from Marquette University Law School in 1929. During his senior year, he was editor-in-chief of the Marquette Law Review.[1] He was admitted to the bar that year and began practicing law in Milwaukee. He was active throughout his career with the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and served on several state commissions, including the Medical Grievance Committee and the Committee on Public Records. In 1846, he was appointed as deputy attorney general under Attorney General John E. Martin, and continued in that role under Martin's next three successors—both Democrat and Republican.[1] He argued many cases on behalf of the state of Wisconsin, most notably the 1954 United States Supreme Court case Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Wisconsin, where Honeck successfully defended a Wisconsin law which sought to close a loophole in federal regulation of natural gas prices.[2]

In 1956, he was the Republican nominee for Attorney General of Wisconsin and prevailed in the general election, receiving 54% of the vote.[3] He sought re-election in 1958, but was defeated by Democrat John W. Reynolds Jr.[4]

After leaving office, Honeck made two attempts to run for Wisconsin Supreme Court. He ran in the extremely crowded 1959 Wisconsin Supreme Court primary, challenging recently-appointed justice E. Harold Hallows. He survived the eight-person primary and went on to face Hallows in the April general election. Hallows narrowly prevailed, with just over 51% of the vote, and went on to later become the 20th chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.[4] Honeck ran for Wisconsin Supreme Court again in 1961, after chief justice John E. Martin announced he would not seek re-election. Honeck received the most votes in the nonpartisan primary, but fell short again in the April general election, losing another close election this time to Myron L. Gordon.[5]

Honeck did not run for public office again. He resumed his legal career in Milwaukee, co-founding the law firm Honeck, Manthye & Arndt, where he practiced for the next 20 years. He retired to Fort Myers, Florida, and died there of heart failure on March 27, 1999.[6][7][8]

Personal life and family

Stewart Honeck married Lillian "Lynn" Carter Sewall in 1939. They had one son and four daughters, and were married for 60 years before dying within a month of each other in 1999.[1] While Honeck was serving as Attorney General, his wife Lynn hosted Madison's first television talk show, The Lynn Honeck Show, on WKOW. After moving to Milwaukee, she was also briefly co-host of the show Open House 12 on WISN-TV.[9][10]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Attorney General (1956, 1958)

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1956[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 6, 1956
Republican Stewart G. Honeck 805,353 54.31% -1.90%
Democratic Robert La Follette Sucher 629,861 42.48% -1.32%
Independent Frank Nikolay 47,643 3.21%
Plurality 175,492 11.83% -0.58%
Total votes 1,482,857 100.0% +32.75%
Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1958[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 4, 1958
Democratic John W. Reynolds Jr. 617,586 53.67% +11.19%
Republican Stewart G. Honeck 533,131 46.33% -7.98%
Plurality 84,455 7.34% -4.50%
Total votes 1,150,717 100.0% -22.40%

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1959)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1959[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nonpartisan Primary, March 10, 1959
Nonpartisan E. Harold Hallows 61,697 27.55%
Nonpartisan Stewart G. Honeck 42,381 18.93%
Nonpartisan Bruno V. Bitker 39,297 17.55%
Nonpartisan Willis E. Donley 21,807 9.74%
Nonpartisan Harry Halloway 20,631 9.21%
Nonpartisan John E. Krueger 18,975 8.47%
Nonpartisan William S. Clark 14,380 6.42%
Nonpartisan Christ Alexopoulos 4,747 2.12%
Total votes 223,915 100.0%
General Election, April 7, 1959
Nonpartisan E. Harold Hallows 326,510 51.28%
Nonpartisan Stewart G. Honeck 310,168 48.72%
Plurality 16,342 2.57%
Total votes 636,678 100.0%

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1961)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1961[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nonpartisan Primary, March 7, 1961
Nonpartisan Stewart G. Honeck 177,890 51.21%
Nonpartisan Myron L. Gordon 145,270 41.82%
Nonpartisan Christ Alexopoulos 24,230 6.97%
Total votes 347,390 100.0%
General Election, April 4, 1961
Nonpartisan Myron L. Gordon 399,408 52.16%
Nonpartisan Stewart G. Honeck 366,390 47.84%
Plurality 33,018 4.31%
Total votes 765,798 100.0%

References

  1. ^ a b c Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1958). "Biographies". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1958 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 6. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Wisconsin, 347 U.S. 672 (Supreme Court of the United States June 7, 1954).
  3. ^ a b Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1958). "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1958 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 664, 771. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1960). "Parties and Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1960 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. [1], 704, 705. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Wisconsin Elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1962 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 1962. pp. 870, 871, 872. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  6. ^ "Retired deputy attorney general dies". Wisconsin State Journal. April 5, 1999. p. 13. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Honeck, Stewart G.. Our Campaigns. Retrieved on January 22, 2016.
  8. ^ "Ex-Attorney General Honeck Had Long Legal Career". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. April 3, 1999. pp. 1B, 7B.
  9. ^ "Lakeland's Best Dressed Co-Ed to be Selected Thursday Night". The Sheboygan Press. February 26, 1964. p. 10. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Honeck, Lillian S." Wisconsin State Journal. May 2, 1999. p. 19. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
Party political offices Preceded byVernon Wallace Thomson Republican nominee for Attorney General of Wisconsin 1956, 1958 Succeeded byGeorge Thompson Legal offices Preceded byVernon W. Thomson Attorney General of Wisconsin 1957–1959 Succeeded byJohn W. Reynolds Jr.
Categories