Gordon John Humphrey is a
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
politician who served two terms in the
SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
as a
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
from 1979 to 1990, and twice ran for
Governor of New HampshireThe Governor of the State of New Hampshire is the supreme executive magistrate of the U.S. state of New Hampshire.The governor is elected at the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Vermont, to hold...
, though both bids were unsuccessful.
Early life
Humphrey was born in
Bristol, ConnecticutBristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 61,353. Bristol is primarily known as the home of ESPN, whose central studios are in the city. Bristol is also home to...
. His first career path was in aviation: he served in the
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
for several years and, following college (
George Washington UniversityThe George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
and the
University of Maryland, College ParkThe University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
), he became a professional pilot.
Originally a liberal, Humphrey said he converted to conservativsm because of "the force of my own logic".
In 1977, Humphrey became the leader of the New Hampshire chapter of Conservative Caucus, which had been looking for someone to head it up for months. Humphrey volunteered and began organizing signature-gathering for petitions and putting together well-attended rallies.
Elections
In 1978 Humphrey won election to the U.S. Senate, despite being only a local Republican activist holding no political office. He defeated three-term incumbent
Thomas J. McIntyreThomas James McIntyre was a U.S. senator from New Hampshire, and a member of the Democratic Party.Born in Laconia, New Hampshire, he attended the public and parochial schools of Laconia; he graduated from Manlius Military School in Manlius, New York, in 1933, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New...
by barely two percent. He won election without help from the Republican Party and had few links to party regulars. Humphrey's 18-month campaign was run for the most part by himself and Patricia Green, a former New York City schoolteacher whom he married just after the four-way GOP primary that September. According to a
New York Times article written a month after the election, she was "considered the strongest force in his camp and is expected to have a strong influence on his Washington staff."
Humphrey was easily reelected in 1984, defeating five-term Democratic U.S. congressman
Norman D'AmoursNorman Edward D'Amours was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New Hampshire from 1975 to 1985, where he was an active participant on issues related to banking and finance. Mr. D'Amours remains active in New Hampshire and national politics...
. Humphrey declined to run for a third term in 1990, having promised only to serve two.
Committee assignments
In the Senate Humphrey served on the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Armed Services Committee, and was a leader in the Congressional Task Force on
AfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, which shaped U.S. policy regarding the
Soviet war in AfghanistanThe Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
and
Operation CycloneOperation Cyclone was the code name for the United States Central Intelligence Agency program to arm, train, and finance the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, 1979 to 1989...
. He voted against the federal budget all 12 years he was a member of the Senate, each time because the proposed budget ran a deficit.
Later political career
Instead of running for a third term, he ran for and won a seat in the New Hampshire State Senate, the only former U.S. Senator to sit in a state senate. He served one term. There were reports of his making a possible run for president on the Republican ticket in both 1988 and 1992. Neither one happened.
Humphrey returned to New Hampshire politics in 2000 by challenging incumbent Governor
Jeanne ShaheenJeanne Shaheen is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and the Senior United States Senator from New Hampshire. The first woman in U.S. history to be elected as both a Governor and U.S. Senator, she was the first woman to be elected Governor of New Hampshire, serving from...
. Shaheen, a Democrat, was considered vulnerable in the wake of a State Supreme Court decision requiring the state to play a larger role in funding education, which many saw as a path toward instituting a statewide income or sales tax. Humphrey pledged to block attempts to enact such taxes, but was narrowly defeated in a contentious campaign.
He ran for the Republican nomination for governor again in 2002, but businessman
Craig BensonCraig R. Benson is an American politician and businessman. He served as Governor of New Hampshire from 2003 to 2005...
eventually won the nomination and the governor's race. Humphrey finished third, and said that the campaign would be his last.
Post-political career
In 2004, Humphrey entered the field of radio broadcasting, purchasing an AM station in
ConcordThe city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
,
WKXLWKXL is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Concord, New Hampshire, USA, the station serves the Concord area. The station is currently owned by New Hampshire Family Radio LLC and features programing from AP Radio.-External links:...
. He lives in
Chichester, New HampshireChichester is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,523 at the 2010 census.-History:Chichester was granted in 1727, named for Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Earl of Chichester, and England's Secretary of State for the Southern...
with his wife, Patricia, and their two children.
External links