Velvalea Hortense Rodgers "Vel" Phillips was an American attorney, politician, jurist, and civil rights activist, who served as an alderperson and judge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and as secretary of state of Wisconsin (1979–1983). She was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School; the first African American, as well as the first woman, elected Alderwoman to the Milwaukee Common Council; and the first African American, as well as the first woman, to serve as a jurist in Wisconsin.

Douglas J. La Follette is an American academic, environmental scientist, and politician who served as the 30th secretary of state of Wisconsin from 1983 to 2023. He is a member of the Democratic Party. At the time of his retirement, La Follette was the longest-serving statewide elected official in the United States; he was narrowly re-elected in 2022 to an unprecedented 12th term in office, but retired shortly after the start of the new term. He previously served as the 28th secretary of state from 1975 to 1979, and in the Wisconsin Senate from 1973 to 1975.