David Gilmer Towell (June 9, 1937 – June 10, 2003) served a single term as a U.S.
Representative from Nevada, representing the state's at-large district.
He was a Republican.
Born in Bronxville, New York, 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.
at University of the Pacific in Stockton, California in 1960.
He served in the Nevada Air National Guard 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 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 in 1976 against incumbent Democrat Howard Cannon, but lost by an overwhelming margin.