James served as a delegate to the 1880 Republican National Convention . He was elected state senator for the 28th District ( at that time consisting of Iowa and Richland Counties ) in 1884 ( Republican incumbent William Meffert was not a candidate ) , receiving 4,712 votes , against 4,291 for Democrat George Crawford and 573 for Prohibitionist John Lee . He served as chairman of the standing committee on railroads . He was not a candidate for re-election in 1888 , and was succeeded by another Republican , Robert Joiner James was described in the Wisconsin Blue Books as a merchant and a hardware merchant . He testified in a Congressional hearing that he manufactured lumber , and sold lumber at retail
1880 Republican National Convention
1880 Republican National Convention
Norman L. James