George M. Smith

George M. Smith (May 18, 1912 – October 21, 1962) was a Canadian American immigrant, businessman, and Republican politician, from Greenfield, Wisconsin. He was the 31st lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, serving three terms from 1949 to 1955.

Biography George M. Smith was born May 18, 1912, in Montreal, Quebec. He attended college in Winnipeg before emigrating to the United States in 1941. He moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then relocated to the Milwaukee suburb of Greenfield, Wisconsin, where he earned his American citizenship in 1944.

He worked as a salesman for a textile company and was said to be an expert in wool. He came from political obscurity to run for lieutenant governor of Wisconsin in 1948. Spending only $53 on his campaign, he shocked the state by winning the Republican Party nomination over well-known Wisconsin Republicans Frank E. Panzer, William Trinke, and James L. Callan. Newspapers at the time theorized that his primary victory was due in part to having a familiar name. He won these terms despite the fact that he never became a very active campaigner. That ultimately was his downfall when he ran for a fourth term in 1954. Delegates to the Republican Party state convention cited the need for a lieutenant governor nominee who would pull his weight for the ticket when they endorsed long-time Republican state senate leader Warren P. Knowles for the job. Knowles defeated Smith in the statewide primary, though Smith still received 47% of the primary vote.

After leaving office, Smith operated an insurance business out of his home in Greenfield and did not run for another political office. He had chronic Nephritis, and, in 1962, he became partly paralyzed due to a fall. He died four months after his accident, on October 21, 1962, at a hospital in Milwaukee.

Personal life and family George M. Smith married Jannet R. Warner in 1935. They had at least three children together and were married for 27 years before his death in 1962.

Electoral history Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor (1948, 1950, 1952, 1954)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality 1948 Primary Republican 124,000 29.75% Rep. 113,211 27.16% 416,857 10,789 Rep. 70,402 16.89% Rep. 66,801 16.02% Rep. 42,443 10.18% General Republican 602,513 49.35% Dem. 591,732 48.47% 1,220,801 10,781 Prog. 14,213 1.16% Soc. 12,343 1.01% 1950 Primary Republican 237,488 61.85% Rep. 146,464 38.15% 383,952 91,024 General Republican 617,668 56.02% Dem. 480,696 43.60% 1,102,636 136,972 Soc. 4,272 1.01% 1952 General Republican 995,017 63.64% Dem. 564,725 36.12% 1,563,394 430,292 Ind. 3,652 0.23% 1954 Primary Republican 180,585 53.04% Rep. 159,896 46.96% 340,481 20,689