Robert Mooneyhan "Robin" Tallon Jr. (born August 8, 1946) is an American businessman and politician who served five terms as a

United States representative 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 ...

from

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 ...

from 1983 to 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life and education

Born in

Hemingway, South Carolina Hemingway is a town in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 504 as of the 2020 Census. History Hemingway was created from a crossroads community named Lamberts in 1911 by Dr. W. C. Hemingway, in an effort to sec ...

, Tallon graduated from

Dillon High School Dillon High School is a public high school in Dillon, South Carolina, United States. It is a part of Dillon School District Four. It is located on 1730 Highway 301 North, approximately from the border of North Carolina and South Carolina. It ...

in 1964 and then attended

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

in 1964-1965. He received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

in 1994.

Career

Tallon was the owner of a chain of retail clothing stores in the Carolinas and Georgia and real estate broker and developer before entering politics. He was a delegate of the White House Conference on Small Business in 1980.

Congress

Tallon was a member of the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

from 1980 to 1982. He was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the

98th United States Congress The 98th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 198 ...

and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1983 to January 3, 1993. He was a member of the Agricultural Committee, the Merchant Marine & Fisheries Committee and was Chairman of the Tourism Caucus. After

South Carolina's 6th congressional district South Carolina's 6th congressional district is in central and eastern South Carolina. It includes all of Allendale, Bamberg, Calhoun, Clarendon, Hampton, and Williamsburg counties and parts of Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Florence, ...

was redrawn by the legislature following the 1990 census and became a majority-minority district, Tallon opted not to run in 1992 for renomination as a candidate to the

103rd United States Congress The 103rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 199 ...

Later career

Tallon is a principal in the government affairs and public relations firm, Jenkins Hill Consulting, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and serves on the board of trustees of the

Medical University of South Carolina The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is a public medical school in Charleston, South Carolina. It opened in 1824 as a small private college aimed at training physicians and has since established hospitals and medical facilities acros ...

. Tallon is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of

Issue One Issue One is an American nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics. It aims to increase public awareness of what it views as problems within the present campaign finance system, and to reduce the influence of money ...

. In April 2025, during an interview with the '' South Carolina Daily Gazette'', Tallon said he no longer considered himself a Democrat, saying that he felt that the party had moved too far left. He also expressed interest in running for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina against Republican incumbent

Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...

as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Personal life

Tallon is a resident of

Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropol ...

, and

On October 25, 2002, police arrested Tallon for

shoplifting Shoplifting (also known as shop theft, shop fraud, retail theft, or retail fraud) is the theft of goods from a retail establishment during business hours. The terms ''shoplifting'' and ''shoplifter'' are not usually defined in law, and genera ...

from an Eckerd's drug store. The items stolen were less than $13. Eckerd soon dropped the charges.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tallon, Robin 1946 births Living people Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina People from Hemingway, South Carolina University of South Carolina alumni 20th-century South Carolina politicians People from Florence, South Carolina Members of Congress who became lobbyists 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly South Carolina independents