# Stewart G. Honeck

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

## 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. 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.

## Electoral history
### Wisconsin Attorney General (1956, 1958)

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1956 :
| Party | 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 | Plurality | Plurality | 175,492 | 11.83% | -0.58% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,482,857 | 100.0% | +32.75% |
Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1958 :
| Party | 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 | Plurality | Plurality | 84,455 | 7.34% | -4.50% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,150,717 | 100.0% | -22.40% |

### Wisconsin Supreme Court (1959)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1959 :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | 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 | Plurality | Plurality | 16,342 | 2.57% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 636,678 | 100.0% |

### Wisconsin Supreme Court (1961)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1961 :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | 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 | Plurality | Plurality | 33,018 | 4.31% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 765,798 | 100.0% |