Thomas Jonathan Ervin (born May 14, 1952) is an American attorney, former

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

, one-time

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and former radio station owner. A past member of the Republican Party, he also served 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 1979 through 1983. He had been running for

Governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ''ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

in the 2014 gubernatorial election 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 ...

, but in late October he dropped out and endorsed Democratic nominee Vincent Sheheen.

Career

Ervin graduated from Erskine College with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in history, and then 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 ...

in 1977. He was elected to serve in the

, representing the seventh district, as a member of the Democratic Party. He served from 1979 through 1983. Ervin has not held any type of public office since this term expired in 1983. He served two terms in the state House, and then served on the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission. He served a

circuit court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

judge for 14 years. In 2005, when House Speaker David Wilkins was named

United States Ambassador to Canada This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Canada.U.S. ...

, Ervin ran in the

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 ...

to replace him as a member of the Republican Party. He lost the election. He then challenged Jean H. Toal, a member of the

South Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of South Carolina is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices.

, in a 1996 election, which he also lost. Ervin desired to run against

Nikki Haley Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley (''née'' Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and as the 29th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from Ja ...

, the

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 ...

, in the Republican primary for the 2014 gubernatorial election. In the November 2014 general election Ervin had planned to appear as a petition candidate for governor, after the South Carolina Election Commission certified his candidacy on July 23, 2013. However, in late October, he dropped out and endorsed Democratic nominee Vincent Sheheen suddenly without any real explanation. Ervin and his wife practice law together in Greenville,

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 ...

. Ervin also purchased WRIX-FM, WRIX and WANS, three Anderson County radio stations, in 2013. However, in late 2014, he donated the radio stations to a local non-profit religious foundation that owns and operates local southern gospel radio stations.

Personal life

Ervin and his wife, Kathryn, have two children. Ervin is a

born-again To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ervin, Tom 1952 births Living people Erskine College alumni Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Politicians from Greenville, South Carolina South Carolina Democrats South Carolina Republicans South Carolina state court judges University of South Carolina School of Law alumni Politicians from Anderson, South Carolina People from Six Mile, South Carolina 20th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly