Alan J. Dixon

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Alan John Dixon (born July 7, 1927), a Democrat, served as a United States Senator from Illinois from 1981 until 1993.

Born in Belleville, Illinois on July 7, 1927, he attended Illinois public schools and later earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from Washington University. While attending the University of Illinois he joined The Delta Upsilon Fraternity. During World War II, Dixon served in the United States Navy. Dixon served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1951 to 1963 and as a member of the Illinois State Senate from 1963 to 1971, serving as minority whip for part of that time. In 1970 he was elected Illinois Treasurer, an office he kept until 1977. In 1976 he was elected Illinois Secretary of State and served in that position until 1981 when he took office as a United States Senator from Illinois. He was generally considered a moderate and was less visible nationally than either of his Illinois colleagues, Charles Percy and Paul Simon, both of whom sought the Presidency. In 1992 Dixon lost in the Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate to Carol Moseley Braun. This defeat shocked observers; at the time no Senator had been defeated in a primary in over a decade and Dixon had a long record of electoral success. His vote to confirm Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court may have contributed to his defeat. The presence of a third candidate in the race, Al Hofeld, a millionaire attorney who ran ads critical of Dixon and who pulled support away from Dixon among white voters while Braun won overwhelming support from the Black community while appealing to many white liberals in what was termed "The Year of the Woman" was also a contributing factor.

Dixon chaired the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission in 1994 and 1995. Dixon has since resumed practicing law with the Bryan Cave law firm in St. Louis and now lives in Fairview Heights, Illinois.

Karl Rove and the Dixon campaign incident

In the fall of 1970, Karl Rove, former Bush Administration Deputy Chief of Staff, used a false identity to enter the campaign office of Alan J. Dixon, who was running for Illinois State Treasurer, and stole 1000 sheets of paper with campaign letterhead. Rove then printed fake campaign rally fliers promising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing," and distributed them at rock concerts and homeless shelters, with the effect of disrupting Dixon's rally (Dixon eventually won the election). Rove's role would not become publicly known until August 1973. Rove told the Dallas Morning News in 1999, "It was a youthful prank at the age of 19 and I regret it."

References

Congressional Biography

References

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