William Raggio is an American politician and a former 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...

 member of the Nevada Senate

Nevada Senate

The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada. The Senate consists of 21 members from 19 districts, two of which are multimember. Each senator represented approximately 94,700 people as of the 2000 census, although 2006 Census Bureau...

. He represented Washoe County's 3rd district from 1972 until his retirement in 2011. He is the longest-serving member in the history of the State Senate.

Early life, education, and early career

Raggio was born in Reno, Nevada

Reno, Nevada

Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...

 in 1926. In order to obtain his B.A. he attended Louisiana Tech University

Louisiana Tech University

Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...

, University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma

The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

, and University of Nevada, Reno

University of Nevada, Reno

The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...

. He obtained his J.D. from the Hastings College of Law at the University of California

University of California

The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...

 and the Boalt Hall School of Law at University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

.

He then went to the military. He was a member of the United States Navy Reserve

United States Navy Reserve

The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...

 (USNR) and became a Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 of the United States Marine Corps Reserve

United States Marine Corps Reserve

The Marine Forces Reserve is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command in the U.S...

 (USMCR). He started his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney of Washoe County

Washoe County, Nevada

Washoe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. The population was 421,407 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County includes the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area.-History:...

 (1952–1958) and was the D.A. of the county (1958–1970).

1970 U.S. Senate race

Raggio first ran for public office statewide in 1970 against incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Howard Cannon

Howard Cannon

Howard Walter Cannon was an American politician. He served as a United States Senator from Nevada from 1959 until 1983 as a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life:...

, who defeated Raggio, the Republican nominee, with nearly 58% of the vote to serve a third term.

1974 LG race

Incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Nevada

Lieutenant Governor of Nevada

The Nevada Lieutenant Governor is an elected office in the U.S. state of Nevada. The Nevada Lieutenant Governor is based in Carson City, Nevada and elected for 4 year terms. The 33rd and current Lt. Governor for the 2007-2011 term is Brian Krolicki....

 Harry Reid

Harry Reid

Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...

 decided not to run for another term, in order to run for the U.S. Senate. This left an open seat. Democrat nominee Robert E. Rose

Robert E. Rose

Robert E. Rose is an American politician. He was the Lieutenant Governor of Nevada from 1975 to 1979. In 1986 Rose was appointed to the Eighth Judicial District Court. He was elected three times to the Nevada Supreme Court serving from 1989 to 2007.-External links:*...

 defeated Raggio, the Republican nominee, with an estimated 52% of the vote statewide.

State Senate tenure (1972-2011)

Raggio has served 12 special and 19 regular sessions, the longest Senate service in Nevada history. He was Senate Minority Floor Leader in 1977-1979, 1983–1986, 1991, and 2009. He was Senate Majority Floor Leader in 1987-1989 and 1993-2007. He was Chairman of the Interim Senate Finance Committee in 1988-1990, 1993–1994, 1997–1998, and 2001-2002. He was Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1987–1989 and 1993-2005. He was also Chairman of the Legislative Committee on Education from 1997–1999 and 2001-2003.

External links

• Senator William J. Raggio official Nevada Legislature site
• William J. Raggio at Jones Vargas law firm