Thomas D. Corbin (born January 11, 1965) is an American businessman and politician. Since 2012, he has served as a 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 ...

from the 5th District. Prior to that, he served for two years as a member in 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 the 17th District. He is a member of the Republican party.

Early life and education

Tom Corbin was born on January 11, 1965, in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

to Barbee and Gail McCarty Corbin. He attended

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, graduating in 1987 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in ornamental

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

S.C. House of Representatives (2010-2012)

Corbin was first elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2010 when he defeated Republican

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Harry Cato, who was seeking an eleventh term. After serving his first term, Corbin ran for reelection in the House uncontested. After Corbin qualified for the general election, it was announced that incumbent State Sen. Phillip Shoopman would step down, leaving the seat open. As a result, Corbin ran concurrently in both races. After winning both races, Corbin resigned his House seat, triggering a special election that was won by Mike Burns.

S.C. Senate

Since 2012, Corbin has represented South Carolina's 5th Senate district covering parts of Greenville and Spartanburg Counties. He was elected after Republican Phillip Shoopman announced he would not seek re-election. Corbin formerly served on the Senate's general and judiciary committees, and currently serves on the finance; fish, game and forestry; labor, commerce and industry; medical affairs; and rules committees, as well as serving on the subcommittee on natural resources and the transportation and regulatory subcommittee. Corbin is a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and a member of the Republican Party. As of 2018, he holds a 54% lifetime rating from 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 ...

. As is listed on his 2020 campaign website, Corbin is

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the lega ...

, and supports

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, as well as ...

, lowering taxes, and cutting

government spending Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual or ...

Political positions

Marijuana

Corbin has generally been against the legalization of

medicinal marijuana Medical cannabis, medicinal cannabis or medical marijuana (MMJ) refers to cannabis products and cannabinoid molecules that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has a long history, but has not ...

, consistently voting against advancing the legislation out of sub-committees and committees he sits on. In a new round of legalization proposals in 2024, Corbin got the senate to adopt his amendment that would allow landlords and property owners to prohibit vaping cannabis products in their homes.

Controversy

Corbin has been involved in controversy regarding comments he has made about women. In 2015, in a comment directed at South Carolina Sen. Katrina Shealy, the lone female senator at the time, Corbin said, "Well, you know God created man first. Then he took the rib out of man to make woman. And you know, a rib is a lesser cut of meat." Corbin later apologized, claiming that the comment was made "in jest", and that Shealy "chose to be offended and make a big deal out of all this". Although accepting his apology, Shealy later responded that "whether the person speaking them thinks they are in jest or not, these words are hurtful and disrespectful." Corbin has also allegedly remarked that women "do not belong in the South Carolina General Assembly", but rather "at home baking cookies" or "barefoot and pregnant".

Personal life

Corbin is married to Leann Robertson, with whom he has two children. The family currently resides in Travelers Rest. Corbin is a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, and serves as a deacon and Sunday school teacher at Clearview Baptist Church. He has served as vice president and president of the Burban Creek Plantation, a hunting reserve located in

Taylors, South Carolina Taylors is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greenville County, South Carolina, Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 23,222 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Greenville, South Caroli ...

Electoral history

Notes

References

External links

Tom Corbin for State Senate

Thomas D. "Tom" Corbin – South Carolina Senator – Open States
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Corbin, Tom 1965 births Living people Republican Party South Carolina state senators Clemson University alumni Politicians from Greenville, South Carolina People from Travelers Rest, South Carolina Baptists from South Carolina 21st-century Baptists Businesspeople from South Carolina Republican Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives 21st-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly 21st-century American businesspeople