David Gilmer Towell (June 9, 1937 – June 10, 2003) was an American politician who served a single term as a

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 Nevada, representing the state's at-large district. He was 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 ...

. Born in

Bronxville, New York Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, a ...

, Towell was the son of a Canadian-born mother and an English-born father. He attended Bronxville and New York City public schools before earning a B.A. in economics at University of the Pacific in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

, in 1960. He served in the

Nevada Air National Guard The Nevada Air National Guard is the aerial militia of the State of Nevada, United States of America. Along with the Nevada Army National Guard, it is an element of the Nevada National Guard. The units of the Nevada Air National Guard are not i ...

from 1960 to 1966. A real estate broker by profession, Towell's prior political experience included serving as chairman of the Douglas County Republican Central Committee and as a delegate to the Nevada State Republican conventions in 1968, 1970, and 1972. He ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1972, expecting to face eight-term conservative incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Walter Baring in the general election. However, Baring was defeated in the Democratic primary by a considerably more liberal Democrat, James Bilbray. Boosted by the divided opposition and a late endorsement from Baring himself, Towell won by a narrow margin. In 1974, Towell ran for reelection, but was soundly defeated by a more conservative Democrat, former judge Jim Santini. Towell 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 ...

in 1976 against incumbent Democrat

Howard Cannon Howard Walter Cannon (January 26, 1912 – March 5, 2002) was an American politician from Nevada. Elected to the first of four consecutive terms in 1958, he served in the United States Senate from 1959 to 1983. He was a member of the Democratic ...

, but lost by an overwhelming margin. Afterwards, he resumed the real estate business. Towell died of cancer on June 10, 2003, at Washoe County Medical Center in Reno.

References

1937 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople American people of Canadian descent American people of English descent American real estate brokers Deaths from cancer in Nevada Military personnel from Nevada Military personnel from New York (state) Nevada National Guard personnel People from Bronxville, New York People from Douglas County, Nevada Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nevada United States Air Force airmen University of the Pacific (United States) alumni Businesspeople from Nevada Businesspeople from New York (state) {{Nevada-politician-stub