Drew Eldred Nixon is a former Texas state senator from Carthage

Carthage, Texas

Carthage is a city in Panola County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,664 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Panola County, and is situated in East Texas near the Louisiana state line.-Geography:...

, the seat of Panola County

Panola County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,756 people, 8,821 households, and 6,395 families residing in the county. The population density was 28 people per square mile . There were 10,524 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...

 in east Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, who served from 1995 to 2001. He is largely known for a tabloid sex scandal

Sex scandal

A sex scandal is a scandal involving allegations or information about possibly-immoral sexual activities being made public. Sex scandals are often associated with movie stars, politicians, famous athletes or others in the public eye, and become scandals largely because of the prominence of the...

.

After graduating from Carthage High School

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

, Nixon attended Panola Junior College

Panola College

Panola College is a community college located in Carthage, Texas. The name derives from Panola County, Texas, of which Carthage is the county seat.As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of Panola College is the following:...

 and Stephen F. Austin State University

Stephen F. Austin State University

Stephen F. Austin State University is a public university located in Nacogdoches, Texas, United States. Founded as a teachers' college in 1923, the university was named after one of Texas' founding fathers, Stephen F. Austin. Its campus resides on part of the homestead of another Texas founding...

 in Nacogdoches

Nacogdoches, Texas

Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of...

, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1982 with a Bachelor of Business Administration

Bachelor of Business Administration

The Bachelor of Business Administration is a bachelor's degree in Commerce and business administration. In most universities, the degree is conferred upon a student after four years of full-time study in one or more areas of business concentrations; see below...

 degree in accounting. Nixon is a Certified Public Accountant

Certified Public Accountant

Certified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...

.

On November 8, 1994, Nixon was elected to the Senate to represent the Third District

Texas Senate, District 3

District 3 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that serves all of Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Hardin, Henderson, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby and Tyler counties, and portions of Montgomery and Smith counties in the U.S. state of Texas...

. He was the first Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to have served this district since Reconstruction. In the 74th Legislature

Seventy-fourth Texas Legislature

The 74th Texas Legislature met from January 10, 1995 to May 29, 1995. All members present during this session were elected in the 1994 general elections.-Senate:-House:-Senate:* Lieutenant Governor: Bob Bullock, Democrat...

, Nixon served on three committees: State Affairs, Health and Human Services, and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Agriculture. During the 75th Legislature

Seventy-fifth Texas Legislature

The 75th Texas Legislature met from January 14, 1997 to June 2, 1997. All members present during this session were elected in the 1996 general elections.-Senate:-House:-Senate:* Lieutenant Governor: Bob Bullock, Democrat...

 he served as the Vice-Chair of State Affairs and on Health and Human Services, Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Congressional/Legislative Redistricting, and Nominations Committees. During the 76th Legislature

Seventy-sixth Texas Legislature

The 76th Texas Legislature met from January 12, 1999 to May 31, 1999. All members present during this session were elected in the 1998 general elections.-Senate:-House:-Senate:* Lieutenant Governor: Rick Perry, Republican...

 he served on Health Services, Intergovernmental Relations, and State Affairs Subcommittee on Infrastructure. Nixon supported business

Business

A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...

 and economic development legislation and had interests in education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 and the criminal justice

Criminal justice

Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...

 system. Nixon chose not to run for reelection in 2000.

Scandal

Nixon was arrested February 18, 1997, after he offered $35 for oral sex

Oral sex

Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...

 and intercourse

Sexual intercourse

Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...

 from an undercover Austin

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

 police officer posing as a prostitute. The arrest came during a sting in south Austin. After the senator was handcuffed, police found a loaded revolver under the front seat of his car. He was charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon because he did not have a state permit to carry a concealed handgun.

Nixon pleaded guilty to the crimes and, despite former Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor of Texas

The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the...

 Bob Bullock

Bob Bullock

Robert Douglas Bullock, known as Bob Bullock , was a Democratic politician from Texas, whose career spanned four decades. His service culminated in his term as Lieutenant Governor of Texas from January 15, 1991–January 19, 1999 during the terms of Governors Ann Richards and George W...

's testimony during sentencing that Nixon deserved leniency, the senator was sentenced to serve six months in jail. Nixon remained a senator while he served his sentence on weekends.

2007 Indictment

In July 2007, Texas State Attorney General unsealed an indictment against Nixon in which he was charged with two counts of official oppression before the 2006 Panola County Fresh Water Supply District board elections. Nixon, an accountant who served as an informal district election administrator, is accused of trying to keep two prospective candidates off the ballot.
According to the Attorney General's press release regarding the indictment, Nixon allegedly attempted to keep the two candidates off the ballot on the basis that neither resided in the proper district.