Dennis E. Carpenter served as a Republican California State Senator from 1970 through 1978 through two consecutive terms.
He was born in 1928 in Minnesota. He received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1952. He studied law at UCLA from 1954 to 1958 and also worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. From 1961 to 1970, he was active in the Republican Party as a volunteer. He was also appointed by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to be a member of the Orange County Airport Commission. In 1970 he was elected California State Senator for the 34th District, representing most of Orange County. In 1974 he declared his intent to run for reelection to the State Senate representing the newly reapportioned 36th District. Throughout 1975 he tried unsuccessfully to obtain the Republican Party U.S. Senate nomination. In 1977 he announced he would not seek reelection to a third term in office. After leaving office, he returned to the private sector. As of 2001 he is still active as a lobbyist and is managing partner of the lobbying firm Carpenter, Snodgrass & Associates.
From the description of Dennis E. Carpenter papers, 1970-1978. (University of California, Irvine). WorldCat record id: 47811821
