Born in Glendale, California, as the oldest of ten children, David Harmer is the son of John L. Harmer the former Lieutenant Governor of California under then Governor Ronald Reagan and Carolyn Jonas Harmer, a homemaker and English teacher.
He served two terms as student body president at Oakmont High School in Roseville, California, from which he graduated in 1979. He graduated from Brigham Young University"s J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1988.
In 2010 Harmer ran for election to the United States House of Representatives from California"s 11th Congressional District. Harmer became his party"s nominee after winning a four-way race in the Republican primary, but ultimately lost to the Democratic incumbent in the tightest congressional race in California that year. He received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in December, 1984, majoring in English.
In 1988-1989, Harmer worked as counsel to a subcommittee of the United States. Senate Judiciary Committee.
He was appointed by Senator Orrin Hatch. Harmer began working at the law firm O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles in October, 1990, a firm he had clerked for while in law school.
In 1994, Harmer returned to his Utah roots, where he managed the congressional campaign of Enid Greene Waldholtz. That campaign was victorious, and from 1995 to 1996 he served as chief of staff to United States. Representative Enid Greene Waldholtz.
1996
Harmer unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Utah"s 2nd District to replace United States. Congresswoman Enid Greene Waldholtz.
2009
Harmer lost the election to Democrat John Garamendi by a vote of 53% to 43%. 2010
Harmer lost the election to incumbent Democrat Jerry McNerney by a vote of 49% to 46.8%. The general election was close enough that the result was not immediately known, pending a definitive count to include all absentee ballots.
On November 24, the Associated Press reported that McNerney had defeated Harmer, with McNerney holding a lead of nearly 2,500 votes with fewer than 1,900 votes left to be counted, but Harmer delayed conceding so that every vote could be counted.
Harmer conceded the election on December 4, 2010.
Harmer was sworn in as a member of the State Bar of California on November 22, 1989 (State Bar Number 141892)., and that same year returned to California to work as a fellow at the College of Public Law at the non-profit Pacific Legal Foundation, where he worked in P.L.F."s environmental law section.
