Alan J. Dixon

Alan J. Dixon
United States Senator from Illinois
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Adlai Stevenson III
Succeeded by	Carol Moseley Braun
34th Illinois Secretary of State
In office January 10, 1977 – January 12, 1981
Preceded by	Michael Howlett
Succeeded by	Jim Edgar
Personal details
Born	July 7, 1927 (1927-07-07) Belleville, Illinois
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Illinois Washington University in St. Louis
Military service
Service/branch	United States Navy
Battles/wars	World War II

Alan John Dixon (born July 7, 1927) is a Democratic politician who was elected to various Illinois state offices from 1951 to 1981 and served as United States Senator from Illinois from 1981 until 1993.

Biography

Born in Belleville, Illinois on July 7, 1927, Dixon 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 in St. Louis. While attending the University of Illinois he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity. During World War II, Dixon served in the United States Navy.

State political career

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 State 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.

The 1976 Illinois State election was turbulent for the Democratic Party. Outgoing Governor Dan Walker had lost the support of the Party and the primary election. Dixon's election as Secretary of State left two years on his term as State Treasurer. To prevent Walker from appointing himself or anyone else to the position, Dixon proposed to incoming Republican Governor Jim Thompson that he would resign after Thompson was inaugurated if Thompson agreed to Dixon's choice for State Treasurer. Dixon's choice was Donald R. Smith, a Republican who was the ranking Civil Service employee in the State Treasurer's office and who had agreed not to run for reelection.

Karl Rove and the Dixon campaign incident

In the fall of 1970, Karl Rove, a future White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the George W. Bush Administration, 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."

United States Senate

Dixon 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 contributed to his defeat.

Braun, a black woman, had the complete support of black voters, and as a known reformist liberal got a large share of liberal voters, and also attracted many women voters in what was termed "The Year of the Woman".

Another factor was the third candidate in the race, multi-millionaire attorney Al Hofeld. Hofeld drew away some of the moderate and conservative Democrats who normally supported Dixon. He also spent a lot of money running advertisements attacking Dixon, weakening his support.

Later life

Dixon chaired the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 1994 and 1995.

After his term in the Senate, Dixon resumed practicing law with the Bryan Cave law firm in St. Louis and now lives in Fairview Heights, Illinois.

Electoral history

• 1980 General Election - U.S. Senate
  • Alan J. Dixon (D), 56.0%
  • Dave O'Neal (R), 42.5%
• 1986 General Election - U.S. Senate
  • Alan J. Dixon (D) (inc.), 65.4%
  • Judy Koehler (R), 34.1%
• 1992 Democratic Primary - U.S. Senate
  • Carol Moseley Braun (D), 38.30%
  • Alan J. Dixon (D) (inc.), 34.61%
  • Albert Hofeld (D), 27.09%

References

• Alan J. Dixon at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Political offices
Preceded by Adlai Stevenson III	Illinois State Treasurer 1971 – 1977	Succeeded by Donald R. Smith
Preceded by Michael Howlett	Illinois Secretary of State 1977 – 1981	Succeeded by Jim Edgar
United States Senate
Preceded by Adlai Stevenson III	United States Senator (Class 3) from Illinois 1981–1993 Served alongside: Charles H. Percy, Paul Simon	Succeeded by Carol Moseley Braun