Quick Facts
Biography
John David Hawkins is a trial lawyer from Spartanburg, South Carolina. He is the owner and managing attorney of the Hawkins Law Firm, with locations in Spartanburg, Greenville, and Charleston, South Carolina. The Hawkins Law Firm handles numerous personal injury and workers' compensation cases, as well as wrongful death and some mass torts.
From 1996 through 2000 he served in the South Carolina House of Representatives. His accomplishments included serving as Chairman of the Legislative Freshman Caucus and fighting on behalf of humane treatment of animals and privacy rights of individuals.
In 2000 he was elected a Republican member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 12th District. In 2004 he narrowly won re-election defeating his primary challenger, Lee Bright by 31 votes. In 2008 Hawkins did not run for re-election.
In 2012, Hawkins challenged Lee Bright in the Republican Primary for District 12 but was defeated due to low turnout and confusion about a Supreme Court decision limiting the number of candidates allowed on the ballot.
While serving in the Senate, Hawkins was a champion of humane treatment of animals, earning the American Humane Society Legislator of the Year. He also was recognized for his work on behalf of the victims of violent crimes. Hawkins was a leading proponent of South Carolina Amendment 1, prohibiting same-sex marriage, which was passed in a statewide referendum in 2006. On September 18, 2013, Hawkins renounced this anti-gay legislation and announced , "I was wrong about pursing the marriage amendment. I wish I hadn't been so strident against it." Formerly a Republican, he now considers himself a progressive independent and champion of the rights of the injured, poor, and working Americans.