Jay Nixon

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 previously 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 in 1988, he was elected Missouri Attorney General in 1992 and reelected in 1996. Following another failed U.S. Senate bid in 1998, 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 2025, 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.