Paul Reynolds Thurmond (born January 9, 1976) is an American politician from the state of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. A member of the Republican Party, Thurmond is a former member of the

South Carolina Senate The South Carolina State Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at ...

. He is the youngest child (and one of three surviving children) of

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 49 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South ...

, who served in the

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 ...

for 48 years.

Early life

Paul was born to Nancy (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Moore) and Strom Thurmond on January 9, 1976, the couple's fourth child. Paul's father was 73 years old at the time of his birth. In February 1976, Strom enrolled Paul in

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

for a 1993 admission. He attended Aiken High School in

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the most populous city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. According to 2020 census, the population was 32,025, making it the 15th-most populous city in South Carolina, and one of the two largest ci ...

, and

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, where he received a scholarship to play tennis. He received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of South Carolina School of Law The University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law School, is a professional school within the University of South Carolina. Founded in 1867, it is the only public and non-profit law school in South Car ...

Career

Thurmond served as an assistant

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

in the Ninth Circuit Solicitor's Office, leaving the position in 2005 to open his own law firm, formerly Thurmond Kirchner Timbes & Yelverton, P.A., now Thurmond, Kirchner, and Timbes Law Firm In 2006, he was elected to the

Charleston County Charleston County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina along the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 408,235, making it the List of counties in South Carolina, third-mos ...

council. Though he initially announced he would leave politics in 2009, opting not to run for a second term as a councilman, Thurmond chose to run for a seat in the

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

, representing

South Carolina's 1st congressional district South Carolina's 1st congressional district is a coastal congressional district in South Carolina, represented by Republican Party (United States), Republican Nancy Mace since January 3, 2021. She succeeded Democratic Party (United States), Demo ...

, following Henry E. Brown Jr.'s retirement in 2010. Thurmond finished second in the Republican primary, forcing a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

against

Tim Scott Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina. A member of the Re ...

. Scott defeated Thurmond in the runoff.Kiely, Kath
Tim Scott wins nomination to become first black Republican congressman since 2003
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', June 22, 2010. Thurmond ran for the

in 2012 to represent the 41st district. The seat was vacated by Glenn F. McConnell, who became

Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina The lieutenant governor of South Carolina is the second-in-command to the governor of South Carolina. Beyond the responsibility to act or serve as governor in the event of the office's vacancy, the duties of the lieutenant governor are chiefly ce ...

. Thurmond defeated Walter Hundley, who succeeded McConnell in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

held in July 2012. Thurmond won the general election, defeating Paul Tinkler, a Charleston City Councilman and member of the Democratic Party, on November 6, 2012. In the aftermath of the shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, in which nine people —including Thurmond's colleague Clementa Pinckney — were killed, Thurmond called for the

Confederate flag The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...

to be permanently removed from the grounds of the

State House State House or statehouse may refer to: Buildings *Aso Villa or State House, the official residence of the President of Nigeria *Government House, Dominica or The State House, the official residence of the President of Dominica * State House, Bar ...

in July 2015. Thurmond did not seek re-election in 2016. The

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for Conservatism in the United States, conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Poli ...

gave him an 88% evaluation and the

Club for Growth The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) political organization active in the United States, with a fiscally conservative agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues. Club for Growth's largest funders are billionaires Jeff Yass a ...

gave him a 90% evaluation.

Personal life

Thurmond has a wife, Katie, three sons and two daughters. One of four siblings, he was also the half-brother (through his father) of the late Essie Mae Washington-Williams, who was 50 years his senior.

Electoral history

References

External links

Campaign website
* *
Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes Law Firm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurmond, Paul 1976 births 21st-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly Living people

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

South Carolina city council members Republican Party South Carolina state senators Vanderbilt Commodores men's tennis players University of South Carolina School of Law alumni People from Aiken, South Carolina South Carolina lawyers