Jay Nixon

Jay Nixon
Official portrait, 2008
55th Governor of Missouri
In office January 12, 2009 – January 9, 2017
Lieutenant	Peter Kinder
Preceded by	Matt Blunt
Succeeded by	Eric Greitens
40th Attorney General of Missouri
In office January 11, 1993 – January 12, 2009
Governor	Mel Carnahan Roger Wilson Bob Holden Matt Blunt
Preceded by	William L. Webster
Succeeded by	Chris Koster
Member of the Missouri Senate from the 22nd district
In office January 7, 1987 – January 11, 1993
Preceded by	Clifford W. "Jack" Gannon[1]
Succeeded by	William McKenna[2]
Personal details
Born	Jeremiah Wilson Nixon (1956-02-13) February 13, 1956 (age 68) De Soto, Missouri, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Georganne Wheeler
Children	2
Education	University of Missouri (BA, JD)
Signature

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. A member of the Democratic Party, he prevously served as the 40th Missouri Attorney General from 1993 to 2009 and as a Missouri state senator from 1987 to 1993.

Born and raised in the city of De Soto, Nixon attended the University of Missouri and graduated with a degree in political science. He first entered politics at age 30 after he was elected to the Missouri Senate to represent Jefferson County. After an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate, he was elected Missouri Attorney General in 1992 and reelected in 1996. Following another failed U.S. Senate bid, he was reelected attorney general twice more in 2000 and 2004, serving a total of four terms, the longest tenure for an attorney general in state history.

In 2008, Nixon was elected governor in a landslide victory over Republican congressman Kenny Hulshof, and he was reelected in 2012. He was term limited in 2016 and was succeeded by Republican Eric Greitens. As of 2024, he is the most recent Democrat to serve as the governor of Missouri. After leaving public office he joined the Dowd Bennett law firm in St. Louis.^[3]