Robert Wilhelm was a Republican

Ohio Republican Party

The Ohio Republican Party is the Ohio state affiliate of the United States Republican Party. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio on February 13, 1854. Kevin DeWine has been chairman of the Ohio GOP since 2009...

 politician who served in the Ohio General Assembly

Ohio General Assembly

The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate...

. A former employee of both Kroger

Kroger

The Kroger Co. is an American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$ 76.7 billion in sales during fiscal year 2009. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume and second-place general retailer...

 and the United Telephone Company, Wilhelm initially ran to represent Van Wert County in the Ohio House of Representatives

Ohio House of Representatives

The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....

 in 1964, and won a seat. When the Voting Rights Act of 1965 initiated legislative districts in 1966, Wilhelm won reelected to represent the newly drawn Second District. He ran unopposed for a third term in 1968, and won a fourth term in 1970.

In 1972, redistricting

Redistricting

Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...

 put Wilhelm in the same district as Representative Fred Hadley

Fred Hadley

Fred Hadley is a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving from 1967-1978. A long time legislator, Hadley was often involved in legislation regarding education, technology advancement, and labor issues. His district consisted of the direct Northwestern Corner of Ohio....

. With neither of them wanting to move or retire, they went on to face each other in the primary election for the Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

nomination. In the end, Hadley defeated Wilhelm, successfully ending his time in the legislature.

Following his defeat, Wilhelm served in the private sector, and publicly as a member of the Ohio state lottery commission. He died in 1991.