David Farnham Emery (born September 1, 1948) is an American politician from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. He served four terms 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 ...

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from 1975 to 1983.

Early life and education

Emery grew up in Rockland before attending college at

Worcester Polytechnic Institute '' , mottoeng = "Theory and Practice" , established = , former_name = Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science (1865-1886) , type = Private research university , endowme ...

, where he received a BS in electronics engineering in 1970. Upon graduating, he entered politics.

Political career

Maine House of Representatives

He served in the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

1970–1974 and was active in the Republican Party.

Congress

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, Emery ran for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

against incumbent Democrat

Peter Kyros Peter Nicholas Kyros (July 11, 1925 – July 10, 2012) was an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from Maine from 19 ...

and won in an upset, one of only a handful of Republican gains in a year when Democrats gained 49 seats in the House of Representatives. He was reelected in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

. He served as a member of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee for all four terms; on the Science and Technology Committee in the 94th congress (1975–1977); and on the House Armed Services Committee during the 95th, 96th and 97th Congresses (1977–1983). He was a member of the House Republican leadership during the 97th Congress, serving as Chief Deputy Republican Whip under

Trent Lott Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is an American lawyer, author, and politician. A former United States Senator from Mississippi, Lott served in numerous leadership positions in both the United States House of Representatives and the ...

1982 Senate campaign

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, he ran for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

against Democratic Senator

George J. Mitchell George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from 198 ...

, a former Federal Judge who had been appointed to succeed Democrat

Edmund Muskie Edmund Sixtus Muskie (March 28, 1914March 26, 1996) was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 58th United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter, a United States Senator from Maine from 1959 to 1980, the 6 ...

, whom President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

had appointed as U.S. Secretary of State. Emery was initially thought to be the favorite, but he ran a highly critical campaign which made a negative impression, and Mitchell won the election with 61% of the vote.

2005 campaign for governor

In 2005 he declared his candidacy for

Governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is Ja ...

in the 2006 election. He withdrew from the race upon the entrance of 2002 nominee

Peter Cianchette Peter Ernest Cianchette (born June 25, 1961) is an American diplomat, businessman, politician and former United States Ambassador to Costa Rica from 2008 to 2009. He was elected to the Maine House of Representatives and served there from 1996 to 2 ...

, but following Cianchette's withdrawal, re-entered. In the Republican

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

he came in last of the three candidates on the ballot, finishing behind State Senators

Chandler Woodcock Chandler E. Woodcock is an American politician from Maine. Woodcock served as a Republican State Senator from Franklin County from 2000 to 2006. He was the Republican candidate for Governor of Maine in 2006. He won a close primary election by 3% ...

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

and Peter Mills of

Skowhegan Skowhegan () is the county seat of Somerset County, Maine. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,620. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuously-held state fair in the United States. Skowh ...

. Woodcock, the nominee, lost to incumbent Democrat

John Baldacci John Elias Baldacci (born January 30, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 73rd Governor of Maine from 2003 to 2011. A Democrat, he also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. During hi ...

in the November 2006 general election. Emery was endorsed by U.S. Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

for Governor, who urged voters to vote for Emery in the primary.

Later life

Emery endorsed

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

for President in the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

. In April 2011, Emery was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services by Governor of Maine

Paul LePage Paul Richard LePage (; born October 9, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 74th Governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, LePage served two terms as a city councilor in Waterville, Maine, before being ...

. In August 2012, Emery resigned from the position with no explanation given. In July 2016, Emery was chosen to run for a

Maine State Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...

seat against incumbent Democrat

David Miramant David Miramant (born May 22, 1955) is an American Democratic politician and pilot from Maine. He represents Senate District 12, Knox County, in the Maine Senate. Miramant served in the Maine House of Representatives from 2006-2008 and was fir ...

of Camden. He was unsuccessful, receiving 48% of the vote to Miramant's 52%. Emery is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of

Issue One Issue One is an American nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics. It aims to increase public awareness of what it views as problems within the present campaign finance system, and to reduce the influ ...

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Emery, David F. 1948 births LePage Administration cabinet members Living people Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives People from Rockland, Maine Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine Worcester Polytechnic Institute alumni