Dave Spence | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 28, 1958 Overland, Missouri, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Suzie Spence (1990–present) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | University of Missouri, Columbia (BA) |
Dave Spence (born February 28, 1958) is an American corporate executive and politician. [1] He was the Republican nominee for governor of Missouri in the 2012 election, [2] losing the general election to incumbent Democrat Jay Nixon.
Spence was born in Overland in St. Louis County, Missouri. He spent much of his childhood in the St. Louis area with his mother and two sisters. [3] Following graduation from Kirkwood High School, [4] Spence earned a degree in Home Economics from the University of Missouri in Columbia. [5] [6]
In 1985, the 26-year-old Spence purchased Alpha Packaging, a small plastics firm. Under his ownership it expanded from 15 to 800 employees. Spence has a family background in the plastics industry. His father had started a rubber and plastics business, for which Dave Spence worked as a teen. However, the business failed in the early 1980s. [7] Spence has also served as Chairman of Legacy Pharmaceutical Packaging. [1] Spence and wife, Suzie, married in 1990 and are the parents of four children. [1] [3]
In November 2011, Spence announced his intention to run for Governor of Missouri regardless of whether Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder decided to run. [8] Kinder decided to run for reelection as lieutenant governor and endorsed Spence for governor. [2]
Spence, who has never held elected office before, has said: "Well one thing I would do is bring a fresh approach to everything. I am willing to jump in there and work my tail off, and I think it can be done. It’s a good point in my life and I feel the urgency to do something, and I can’t sleep at night knowing that I can make a difference and rally the troops and get the state turned around if I had the opportunity and said no." [5]
Spence's campaign website asserted that he held a degree in economics, a statement also made on at least one campaign flier, which also incorrectly stated that he had gone to the university's business school. His degree is actually in home economics. After the inaccuracy was revealed and publicly criticized in January 2012, he corrected his website. [9] Regarding the errors, Spence told the Associated Press "I have said all along that I will not or do not lie ... A lot of this is overblown, as I was not aware of any place that said business school ... I will take responsibility for this. I did not catch the mistake on early campaign literature." [10] Spence's campaign manager cited a staff oversight for the error.
On August 7, 2012, Spence won the Republican nomination for Missouri governor. He received 333,578 votes (59.9 percent) to outpace nearest challenger Bill Randles' 90,651 (16.3 percent). [11] Spence was defeated by incumbent Democrat Jay Nixon in the November 2012 general election. [12] [13]
In his contest against Nixon, Spence had the support of Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum political action committee. [14]
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The 2012 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Republican Peter Kinder faced Democratic nominee and former state auditor Susan Montee, Libertarian Matthew Copple, and the Constitution Party nominee, former state representative Cynthia Davis.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri were held specifically on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, and elected the eight U.S. representatives from the state of Missouri, a loss of one seat following the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a federal quadrennial presidential election, concurrent statewide gubernatorial election, quadrennial statewide lieutenant gubernatorial election, and an election to the U.S. Senate.
The 2016 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the Governor of Missouri, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2016 Missouri Attorney General election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the Attorney General of Missouri, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Republican Josh Hawley defeated the Democratic nominee Teresa Hensley.
The 2016 Missouri Secretary of State election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the Missouri Secretary of State, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and those to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2020 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the Governor of Missouri, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Mike Parson ran for and was elected to a full term in office. Parson was elected as lieutenant governor in 2016 but became governor on June 1, 2018, after incumbent Eric Greitens resigned under threat of impeachment by the state legislature. Parson declared his bid for a full term on September 8, 2019. State Auditor Nicole Galloway, Missouri's only Democratic statewide officer and only female statewide officer, was the Democratic nominee and if elected, would have become Missouri's first female governor.
The 2017 St. Louis mayoral election was held on April 4, 2017, to elect the mayor of St. Louis, Missouri. Incumbent Mayor Francis Slay chose not to run for reelection. Slay, who was serving his fourth term as mayor, indicated in March 2016 that he would run for reelection, but announced in April 2016 that he would not run for a fifth term. Primary elections took place on March 7, 2017, and the general election was held on April 4. Alderwoman Lyda Krewson was elected and became the first female Mayor of St. Louis.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 8, 2022, concurrently with elections for all other Class 3 U.S. senators and elections for the U.S. House of Representatives, to select a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Missouri. Incumbent senator Roy Blunt, a Republican, did not seek a third term in office. Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt won the open seat, defeating Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine.