Champ Edmunds
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Richard Champion "Champ" Edmunds, Jr. is an American politician and a former Republican member of the
Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House In the event that the parti ...
from 2011 to 2015.


Personal and professional life

Richard Champion "Champ" Edmunds Jr. was born September 9, 1963, in
Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The city makes up the Sumter, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sumter County, along with Clarendon and Lee counties, form the core of Sumter–Lee ...
. An injury during birth resulted in the severing of nerves on the right side of his face, causing facial paralysis. Champ grew up working on his family's dairy farm. After high school he joined the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
, navigating submarines for more than ten years. After leaving the navy, he moved to Missoula, Montana. He attended the
University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...
and earned a degree in Business Administration with a focus on Accounting and Finance. Edmunds has worked as a public accountant and in banking as a mortgage banker. He and his wife now own a real estate franchise and an artisan chocolate shop / made-in-Montana boutique in
Darby, Montana Darby ( Salish: snk̓ʷɫxʷexʷem̓i, "Place Where They Would Lift Something") is a town in Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 783 at the 2020 census. Darby is located near the southwestern border of Montana and Idaho, ...
. Edmunds is married to Barbara Burnham Edmunds. They have four children, two each from previous marriages. Both Champ and his wife Barbara are Bible believing Christians, business owners, and active members of their community.


Political career


2010 election

Edmunds was elected to the
Montana Legislature The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to t ...
to represent House District 100, which represents a portion of the
Missoula Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot River, Bitterroot and Blackfoot River (Montana), ...
area, on November 2, 2010. He was officially sworn into office on January 3, 2011. He had no primary opponent and beat the Democratic challenger in the general election.


2012 election

Edmunds was re-elected to the Montana Legislature in 2012. He was unopposed in the primary and beat the Democratic challenger, earning 56% of the vote.


2014 U.S. Senate election

Edmunds unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat then held by John Walsh. Edmunds officially announced his run for U.S. Senate at a press conference at Bitterroot Motors in Missoula on February 28, 2013. He spoke to about 50 supporters, party leaders and residents from Missoula and the Bitterroot. Edmunds said that if elected, he was ready to start fixing Washington. “First with a balanced budget amendment, and then with a prohibition of legislative riders, changing those two things alone in Washington would solve most of the problems they have there... I am ready to reduce the size of the Federal Government and stand for Montana as your civil servant.” Edmunds characterized himself as a "fighter", telling how he had worked throughout life to counter the facial palsy that afflicted him at birth. He said he wants to see a new face in Washington D.C.


2016 Montana State Auditor election

On April 2, 2015, Edmunds announced he would be running for
Montana State Auditor The Montana state auditor is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Montana. The state auditor is elected once every four years, concurrent with the state's gubernatorial election and the U.S. pres ...
in 2016. He exited the race on February 8, 2016, and endorsed fellow Republican Matt Rosendale.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edmunds, Champ 1963 births Living people Republican Party members of the Montana House of Representatives Place of birth missing (living people) Politicians from Missoula, Montana 21st-century members of the Montana Legislature