Jay Nixon

Another paternal ancestor, John Inskeep, served as Mayor of Philadelphia (from 1800 to 1801 and 1805 to 1806).

Nixon graduated with honors from the University of Missouri with a degree in political science.

He worked at various construction jobs before receiving his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri School of Law.

Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon (born February 13, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 55th governor of Missouri from 2009 to 2017.

In 1986, after a period of private practice in his hometown, Nixon ran for the Missouri Senate from a district in Jefferson County.

He won an upset victory in the Democratic primary against two longtime Jefferson County lawmakers and defeated his Republican opponent, Larry Callahan, in the general election with 64 percent of the vote.

When the new Congress convened on January 7, 1987, Nixon was the only freshman member.

Nine days after his swearing in, Nixon introduced his first piece of legislation with a bill that would allow schools to purchase satellite dishes in order to provide better broadcasts.

Later that year, he received an award as an outstanding legislator from the Judicial Conference of Missouri.

In April 1987, Nixon expressed interest in running for the United States Senate in the 1988 election.

Some members of the Missouri Democratic Party considered him a strong candidate, given his upset victory for the state senate, but some remained critical of his lack of political experience.

Nixon made his decision official when he announced his candidacy on October 6.

He was endorsed by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM); Nixon welcomed the endorsement, but opponents criticized him for accepting an endorsement from a group "that has been roundly condemned by Missouri newspapers for using scare tactics and misleading information".

Nixon lost the general election to Republican incumbent John Danforth by a wide margin.

During the campaign, Danforth outspent Nixon 5–1 through Political Action Committees (PACs).

During the Democratic primary campaign, fellow Democrat Mike Wolff, a law professor who was also seeking the nomination, accused Nixon of using his political influence to get a consumer fraud complaint in 1988 dropped by then-Attorney General William Webster.

Nixon denied Wolff's accusation and said that Wolff "sounds like a desperate candidate to me".

Nixon won the Democratic nomination and general election against Republican David Steelman.

As the state's Attorney General, Nixon created the Environmental Protection Division to enforce Missouri's environmental laws.

Attorneys in this division take legal action to stop the pollution of the state's air, water and soil and to look after Missouri's agricultural interests.

Successful litigation by the division has resulted in the cleanup of polluted sites and millions of dollars awarded to the state.

His aggressive actions in the Attorney General's Office earned him national recognition.

Barrister magazine named him one of the 20 outstanding young lawyers in the nation, and the Missouri Jaycees selected him one of Ten Outstanding Young Missourians.

Prior to becoming Attorney General, he was recognized by the Conservation Federation of Missouri for his environmental work as a state senator.

In 1989, Nixon sponsored a bill that would mandate businesses with at least 25 employees to give pregnant workers maternity leave.

However, the Senate voted 17–16 against the bill.

Nixon re-introduced the bill in 1990, and although the Senate approved it, Governor John Ashcroft vetoed the bill.

Nixon was reelected in November 1990, defeating Richard Ford, a Republican from Cedar Hill.

Nixon announced in September 1991 that he would run for state Attorney General.

Prior to his tenure as Missouri Governor, he served as the 40th Missouri Attorney General from 1993 to 2009.

After leaving public office he joined the Dowd Bennett law firm in St. Louis.

As of early 2024, he is the most recent Democrat to serve as the governor of Missouri.

Nixon was born and raised in De Soto, Missouri.

His mother, Betty Lea Nixon (née Wilson), was a teacher and president of the local school board, and his father, Jeremiah "Jerry" Nixon, served as the city's mayor.

One of his three paternal great-grandfathers, Abraham Jonas, was an early Jewish settler in Illinois and friend of former President Abraham Lincoln (one of Nixon's paternal great-grandmothers was Jewish, though Nixon is Methodist).

His great-great-grandfather Charles Henry Jonas was the brother of Democratic U.S. Senator Benjamin F. Jonas of Louisiana and another, James Oscar Nixon, was a brother of U.S. Representative John Thompson Nixon of New Jersey.

In 1998, Nixon again unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate, losing in the general election to Kit Bond.

During his tenure as Attorney General, Nixon oversaw the state's involvement in the court settlements that ended mandatory urban busing in St. Louis and Kansas City's public schools.

This angered African-American leaders in the state, who refused to endorse him.

A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the governorship in 2008 and reelected in 2012.