Rick McIntyre

Richard D. McIntyre, Sr. (October 5, 1956 – October 30, 2007) was a lawyer and public official from Indiana. He was born in 1956 and his original ambition was to become a Navy Pilot. He enrolled in Naval air training in Pensacola, but was forced to quit after a knee injury. He then entered law school in Bloomington, Indiana, and also entered the Indiana National Guard, where he became a military lawyer and rose to the rank of Colonel. He also ran successfully for the state House of Representatives in 1980 and was reelected two years later. In 1984, he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives against freshman Democrat Frank McCloskey. On election night, he appeared to have won a hairbreadth victory and was certified by the Secretary of State as having won by 34 votes. However, the Democratic majority refused to seat him, claiming voting irregularities. An investigation by a House committee ruled that McCloskey won by four votes, which stirred up controversy and caused House Republicans to stage a symbolic walkout. McIntyre was interested in running for Lieutenant Governor in 1986, but was persuaded to seek a rematch with McCloskey. By this time, President Ronald Reagan was less popular than in 1984 and McIntyre was outspent. As a result, McCloskey won by a 53% to 47% margin.

McIntyre lost interest in the national arena and was appointed a Lawrence County Circuit Court Judge in 1988. He was reelected without opposition in 1990, 1996, and 2002, and served until 2007 when he was found dead in his home at the age of 51 of an apparent suicide amid reports of his possible involvement in a military furniture-buying scandal. At the time of his death, McIntyre was a member of the Indiana National Guard, 76th Infantry Brigade Combat team, serving as a judge advocate and preparing for deployment to Iraq.