David Farnham Emery (born September 1, 1948) is an American politician from Maine. He served four terms as a Republican U.S. Representative from 1975 to 1983.

Early life and education

Emery grew up in

Rockland Rockland may refer to: People *Per Bergsland, nicknamed Peter Rockland, one of three successful escapees from Stalag Luft III (the "Great Escape") Places ;In Canada *Rockland, Greater Victoria *Rockland, Nova Scotia *Rockland, Ontario ;In the Uni ...

before attending college at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 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 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.

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 against Democratic Senator George J. Mitchell, 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 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 in the

2006 election The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidential ...

. He withdrew from the race upon the entrance of 2002 nominee Peter Cianchette, 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 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. 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 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