David Karnes

David Kemp Karnes (December 12, 1948 – October 25, 2020) was an American politician, businessman, and attorney. He was a United States senator from Nebraska from 1987 to 1989, and was president and chief executive officer of The Fairmont Group Incorporated, a merchant banking/consulting company with offices in Omaha and the District of Columbia. Karnes also served in an "of counsel" capacity to the national law firm of Kutak Rock and practiced out of the firm's Omaha, Nebraska and Washington, D.C. offices. Karnes was also involved in numerous civic, educational, and charitable organizations both in Nebraska and nationally.

Early life Karnes was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He attended Benson High School and the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, where he was a member of the swimming team and graduated in 1971. As an undergrad he joined Beta Theta Pi fraternity, serving one term as chapter president. He remained in Lincoln to attend law school.

In 1981, Karnes was selected and served as a White House Fellow, only the second Nebraskan to achieve that honor.

Although President George W. Bush personally encouraged him to run for the Senate again in 2006, Karnes never again ran for public office. (director and executive committee), eOne Group, Inc. (web development and systems integration) (director), and Solutionary, Inc. (data, internet and systems security) (director).

Karnes served as a member of the United States Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations. This committee is appointed by the president and is composed of chief executive officers of 40 of America's largest corporations as well as presidents of key agriculture and labor organizations. The Committee, established by the U.S. Congress in 1974, is the principal trade advisory group representing America's private sector to the president and Congress on all trade issues such as the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the World Trade Organization, and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

In January 2016, Karnes endorsed New Jersey governor Chris Christie for president in that year's election.

Personal life and death He was married to Elizabeth Karnes from 1971 to her death in 2003; they had four daughters.

In 2019, Karnes was diagnosed with metastatic squamous cell skin cancer. He was part of a clinical trial in Boston, Massachusetts, but treatment was unsuccessful, and he died there on October 25, 2020, at age 71.