Henry Eugene "Hank" Erwin Jr. (born April 2, 1949) is an American evangelical Christian. Erwin was a broadcaster and a former Republican State Senator from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, representing the 14th District, from 2002 until 2010. He represented portions of Jefferson, Shelby, Bibb and Chilton counties.

Biography

Erwin was the son of Henry Eugene "Red" Erwin Sr., a U.S. Army Air Forces sergeant who earned the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, and graduated from Ensley High School in 1967, before going on to earn degrees at Troy State University (1972), Southeastern Bible College (1974), and the Dallas Seminary (1981). Erwin broke into broadcasting in the 1970s and served radio and TV stations in Dallas, Texas, and Birmingham, Alabama, for almost 35 years. He was elected to the Alabama Senate in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. Erwin and his wife, Shelia, have two sons, filmmakers Andrew and Jon Erwin. He received national media coverage in 2005 when he claimed that

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

was "the judgment of God" for "gambling, sin and wickedness" in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and along the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

2010 Lt. Governor campaign

In April 2009, Erwin announced his plans to seek the position of Alabama Lieutenant Governor against then-incumbent Jim Folsom Jr.

Kay Ivey Kay Ellen Ivey ( ; born October 15, 1944) is an American politician who is the 54th governor of Alabama, serving since 2017. A Republican since 2002, Ivey was the 38th Alabama state treasurer from 2003 to 2011 and the 30th lieutenant governor o ...

announced a switch from the governor's race to the lieutenant governor's race on March 31, 2010. Ivey defeated both Erwin and

Daphne Daphne (; ; , , ), a figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in which she appears, but t ...

schoolteacher Gene Ponder by a significant margin in the June 1, 2010 primary. Ivey went on to be elected as lieutenant governor and was sworn in as governor in 2017 after Governor

Robert J. Bentley Robert Julian Bentley (born February 3, 1943) is an American former politician and physician who served as the 53rd governor of Alabama from 2011 until 2017 upon his resignation following his arrest after a sex scandal involving a political aide ...

's resignation.

References

External links

Senator Henry E. "Hank" Erwin Jr.
archived profile at Alabama legislature
Senator Hank Erwin
archived personal website
Senator Henry E. 'Hank' Erwin Jr. (AL)
profile at Project Vote Smart
Hank Erwin political campaign contributions at "Follow the Money"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erwin, Hank Alabama state senators 1949 births Living people Dallas Theological Seminary alumni Southwestern Christian University alumni 21st-century members of the Alabama Legislature