Clay Freeman Gaumer (March 14, 1870 – May 20, 1952) was a

Prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...

member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

during the 44th and 45th Illinois General Assemblies. A native of

Alvin, Illinois Alvin is a village in South Ross Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 316 at the 2000 census. The U.S. Post Office uses the name Alvin, howev ...

, Gaumer was born March 14, 1870. He was first elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1904. Gaumer was reelected in 1906. In 1907, he introduced a constitutional amendment to create a statewide ban on alcohol consumption. He lost reelection in 1908. Gaumer would run for office on behalf of the Prohibition Party on a number of occasions after his time in the

. He was the party's nominee for

Illinois's at-large congressional district Illinois elected its United States Representative at-Large on a general ticket upon achieving statehood December 3, 1818. It last elected a US Representative in the Election of 1946. The district has been inactive since. List of members rep ...

in 1934 general election; its nominee for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 1920 general election and 1936 general election; its nominee for

Illinois Treasurer The Treasurer of Illinois is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Illinois. Seventy-four individuals have occupied the office of Treasurer since statehood. The incumbent is Mike Frerichs, a Democ ...

in the 1938 general election, its gubernatorial nominee in the 1940 general election; its nominee for Illinois State Superintendent in the 1942 election; and in the 1944 general election as one of its nominees for a seat on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. He also attempted to get on the ballot as the party's nominee for

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in the 1932 general election. Gaumer died May 20, 1952, in

Danville, Illinois Danville is a city in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The populations was 29,204 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Danville micropolitan area. History The area that is now Danville was on ...

References

1870 births 1952 deaths Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Illinois Prohibitionists Politicians from Vermilion County, Illinois 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub