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

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

, one-time

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

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, seati ...

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 the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

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

Vincent Sheheen Vincent Austin Sheheen (born April 29, 1971) is an American attorney and politician. He was a member of the South Carolina Senate from 2004 to 2020, representing the 27th District, which comprises Chesterfield, Kershaw, and Lancaster counti ...

Career

Ervin graduated from

Erskine College Erskine College is a private Christian college in Due West, South Carolina. It is an undergraduate liberal arts college and a graduate theological seminary. The college was founded in 1839 by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Its spor ...

with a

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

in history, and then the

University of South Carolina School of Law The University of South Carolina School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law School, is a professional school within the University of South Carolina. The school of law was founded in 1867, and remains the only public and non-profit law schoo ...

in 1977. He was elected to serve in the

, representing the seventh district, as a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. 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 judge for 14 years. In 2005, when House

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

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, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

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 South Carolina Supreme Court 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 Nimrata Nikki Haley (née Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Na ...

, the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

, 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

suddenly without any real explanation. Ervin and his wife practice law together in Greenville,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Ervin also purchased WRIX-FM,

WRIX WRIX (1020 AM, "Electric City Bluegrass") is a daytime-only Bluegrass radio station located near Anderson, South Carolina. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to the nearby community of Homeland Park and bro ...

and

WANS WANS (1280 AM) is a southern gospel radio station located in Anderson, South Carolina, United States. The station is licensed by the FCC to broadcast with 5 kW. during the daytime and 1 kW. directional at night. Station history WANS 12 ...

, 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 Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...

radio stations.

Personal life

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

born-again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

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 People from Anderson, South Carolina People from Six Mile, South Carolina