Jay Nixon

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Jeremiah W. "Jay" Nixon (born February 13, 1956) is an Democratic politician from Missouri. He has served as the Missouri Attorney General since 1993 and is the only person in Missouri history to have been elected to the position for four terms.

Education, early career, and personal life

Nixon is a native of De Soto, Missouri. He earned his bachelor's degree in political science and his Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1978 and 1981, respectively. He is married to Georganne Wheeler Nixon; they have two children, Jeremiah, Jr., and Will. After earning his J.D., he became an attorney in private practice.

Political career

Nixon was elected to the Missouri Senate in 1986. Two years later, he made his first bid for statewide office, an unsuccessful effort to oust incumbent U.S. Senator John Danforth. Nixon was soundly defeated by the popular Danforth, winning only 32% of the vote compared to Danforth's 68%. Nixon was first elected as Missouri's Attorney General on November 3, 1992, on a platform of fighting crime, cleaning up government corruption, and protecting consumers and the environment. Nixon followed William L. Webster as Attorney General, whose term had been plagued by scandal. The 1992 race for Attorney General between Nixon and former State House Minority Leader David Steelman was remarkably nasty and memorable for biting personal attacks on both sides. Nixon beat Steelman 51% to 45%, with an unusually high 4% of the votes going to the Libertarian candidate.

Nixon was re-elected as Attorney General in 1996. In 1998 he again made an unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate, this time losing to incumbent Republican Kit Bond. In 2000 and 2004 Nixon was again re-elected as Attorney General.

Accomplishments as Attorney General

One of the most popular programs Nixon has implemented is the state’s No Call program. More than 3.5 million Missourians are a part of the No Call list, which reduces unwanted telemarketing calls. Nixon also has recovered more than $1.2 million from telemarketers who violated the No Call law.

Nixon’s victory in the U.S. Supreme Court in Nixon v. Shrink reinstated Missouri’s campaign contribution limits and cleared the way nationally for campaign finance reform. In two other cases of significance, Nixon’s work in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the Health Midwest cases have resulted in the formation of the state’s two largest health care foundations, which will use more than $1.5 billion to help provide health care services to underserved populations of the state. Litigation by Nixon against tobacco companies for illegally marketing cigarettes to young people resulted in the largest settlement in the history of the state.

Nixon created an Agriculture and Environment Division, which has worked to protect the interests of the state regarding the flow of the Missouri River. Attorneys take legal action to stop pollution of the state’s air, water and soil and to look after Missouri’s agricultural interests.

Controversies

As Attorney General, Nixon has also been heavily involved in controversial decisions regarding school desegregation, capital punishment, and abortion. Nixon has overseen the state's involvement in the court settlements that ended mandatory busing to achieve desegregation in St. Louis and Kansas City's public schools. His role in the desegregation cases has caused friction with some African American leaders. Nixon is also a supporter of capital punishment, which has caused him some political difficulties with opponents of the death penalty. In addition, Missouri Republicans have criticized Nixon for soliciting campaign contributions from utility company Ameren during an ongoing criminal investigation by his office of the company.[1]

Future political plans

Nixon has continued to win re-election as Attorney General by large margins during a time when other Democrats have had increasing difficulty winning elections in Missouri. This has led many political observers to speculate that Nixon may decide to challenge Missouri Governor Matt Blunt in 2008. On November 10, 2005, Nixon filed the necessary paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission to launch a 2008 campaign for governor.[2] A November 2006 poll showed Nixon with a 13 point lead over Blunt (52% to 39%) for the governor's race.[3] However, Blunt's job approval ratings have improved from the low 30's in 2006 to the mid 40's in May 2007.[4] and the race may have tightened as Blunt's approval numbers have climbed.

Electoral history

  • 2004 Race for state Attorney General
    • Jay Nixon (D) (inc.), 60%
    • Chris Byrd (R), 37%
  • 1998 Race for US Senator
    • Jay Nixon (D), 44%
    • Kit Bond (R), 53%
  • 1988 Race for US Senator
    • John Danforth (R) (inc.), 68%
    • Jay Nixon (D), 32%

External links

References

  1. ↑ http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/news-politicalfix/2007/04/dnr-still-gnawing-at-that-ameren-bone-and-hitting-nixon-with-it/
  2. ↑ http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/C90EA35391DC265C862570B6001BC17A?OpenDocument
  3. ↑ http://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=21379
  4. ↑ http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=c50d9fb8-a517-477f-a9d7-88a3523a70e8

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