Clay, William L., Jr., 1956-

<p>William Lacy Clay Jr. (born July 27, 1956) is an American politician who served as the U.S. Representative from Missouri's 1st congressional district from 2001 to 2021. His congressional career ended after he lost in a Democratic primary to Cori Bush in 2020, after successfully defeating her in the 2018 primary.</p>

<p>William Lacy Clay Jr. was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His family moved to Washington, D.C., when his father, Bill Clay, was elected to Congress. His mother was Carol Ann (nee Johnson).</p>

<p>In his teenage years, Clay attended public schools in Silver Spring, Maryland, and graduated from Springbrook High School in 1974. He subsequently attended the University of Maryland, College Park, earning a degree in political science and a paralegal certificate. Clay is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He attended Howard University School of Law, worked as an Assistant Doorkeeper of the United States House of Representatives, and worked on his father's Congressional campaigns.</p>

<p>Clay entered the Missouri House of Representatives in 1983, winning a special election to complete the term of Nathaniel J. "Nat" Rivers. In 1991, he was elected to the Missouri Senate.</p>

CLAY, William Lacy, Jr., (son of William Lacy Clay, Sr.), a Representative from Missouri; born in St. Louis, Mo., July 27, 1956; graduated from Springbrook High School, Silver Spring, Md., 1974; B.A., University of Maryland, College Park, Md., 1983; member of the Missouri state house of representatives, 1983-1991; member of the Missouri state senate, 1991-2001; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Seventh and to the nine succeeding Congresses (January 3, 2001-January 3, 2021); unsuccessful candidate for renomination to the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress in 2020.