Daniel Peter Gordon Jr. (April 12, 1969 – March 25, 2017) was an American politician and construction contractor. Gordon was a Libertarian member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected ...

. Gordon was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Representative in November 2010 for the 71st District, defeating Democratic candidate George S. Alzaibak. In September 2011 he was expelled from the Republican caucus for allegedly making derogatory comments about other Republicans online. Gordon changed his party affiliation from

to Libertarian, becoming the only

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

member in any United States legislature during that time.

Background

Gordon was born in

Bristol, Pennsylvania Bristol is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northeast of Center City Philadelphia, opposite Burlington, New Jersey on the Delaware River. It antedates Philadelphia, being settled in 1681 and first incorpora ...

. He served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Rhode Island House of Representatives

2010 Election

Gordon decided to run as a Republican for Rhode Island's 71st house district, based in Jamestown,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, and Little Compton; when Republican State Representative John J. Loughlin, Jr. retired from that position to run for

Rhode Island's 1st congressional district Rhode Island's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It includes all of Bristol and Newport counties, along with parts of Providence County, including most of the city of Providence. The di ...

, which had been vacated by retiring Democrat

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

man

Patrick J. Kennedy Patrick Joseph Kennedy II (born July 14, 1967) is an American politician and mental health advocate. From 1995 to 2011, he served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island's 1st congressional distr ...

. Gordon became the Republican nominee and narrowly defeated Democratic nominee George Alzaibak 50.4–49.6%, a difference of just 47 votes.

Controversies

In March 2011, he made a controversial comment in an online article reporting that

Tiverton High School Tiverton High School is a state secondary school located in Tiverton, Devon, England. It is located on the outskirts of the town, and has a close working relationship with the co-sited Petroc (formerly East Devon College). The school curren ...

started the school's first Gay-Straight Alliance.

2012 Election

Gordon ran for re-election in the November 6, 2012 election as a Libertarian, but failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot.
Richard Winger, Winger, Richard. "Incumbent Legislator Tries to Run for Re-election as a Libertarian"] '' Ballot Access News'' November 29, 2012 (Volume 28, Number 6) He ran as a write-in candidate and lost the election to Democrat Dennis Canario by a wide margin, thus leaving no Libertarians in any state legislature in the country.

Death

Gordon died on March 25, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Daniel P. 1969 births 2017 deaths Republican Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives People from Bristol, Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania Rhode Island Libertarians Libertarian Party (United States) officeholders