Thomas Dixon (politician)

Thomas Dixon
Dixon in North Charleston, 2015
Personal details
Born	1952/1953 (age 64–65) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Residence	North Charleston, South Carolina
Signature

Thomas Alan Dixon (born 1952/53) is an American pastor and political activist. He was the Democratic nominee in the 2016 United States Senate election in South Carolina.

Dixon grew up in the housing projects of Chicago's South Side. He began dealing drugs and using them himself at the age of 15. In 1983, Dixon joined the United States Navy, serving as a hospital corpsman and surgical technician. He served in the Navy for five years before being honorably discharged due to multiple failed drug tests. After being discharged, Dixon worked in several fields, including as a loan officer and for the United States Census Bureau. In 1999, his wife separated from him due to his addiction.

In 1999, Dixon was arrested for breach of trust; he served eight months in the Berkeley County Detention Center and two years in prison. After being released in 2001, he gave up drugs and alcohol, reunited with his wife, and began work as a restaurant cook before being laid off in 2011. Dixon later worked at a Walmart deli in 2012.

He later co-founded a social justice activist group known as The Coalition: People United To Take Back Our Community. Dixon also is pastor of the Summerville Christian Fellowship.

In February 2016, Dixon declared his intent to run in the United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2016. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was also nominated by the Green Party. Dixon lost in the general election to incumbent Republican Senator Tim Scott, and he received 37% of the vote, coming in second place out of four candidates.

Dixon supports ending illegal gun violence and racial profiling, as well as universal healthcare and universal education.