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.

Born and raised in the city of De Soto, Nixon attended the University of Missouri and graduated with a degree in political science.

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

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

[7] He won an upset victory in the Democratic primary against two longtime Jefferson County lawmakers[8] and defeated his Republican opponent, Larry Callahan, in the general election with 64 percent of the vote.

[9] 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.

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

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.

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.

[27] During the 2000 election season, Nixon filed a writ of prohibition to prevent Edward Joseph Manley III, a candidate for Jefferson County sheriff, from appearing on the Democratic primary ballot.

According to the report, these groups included white Christians, supporters of third-party presidential candidates Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and Chuck Baldwin, as well as opponents of gun control, illegal immigration, abortion, the Federal Reserve System, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Nixon was inaugurated as governor on January 12, 2009, sworn in by chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, Laura Denvir Stith.

[40] Nixon took office amid the Great Recession, and to combat this he focused on creating jobs, investing in education, and strengthening the state's economy while keeping the budget in balance.

[41] In January 2009, Nixon proposed keeping the same funding level to public universities on behalf of the schools not increasing their tuition fees, which was generally met favorably.

[45] Upon taking office, Nixon "began cutting spending almost immediately and has made repeated reductions to the budgets passed by the Legislature in subsequent years.

On October 21, 2011 Ford confirmed that it would make a $1.1 billion investment in its Kansas City Assembly Plant and add 1,600 jobs at the facility.

[53] The St. Louis Post Dispatch editorialized that "key to both Ford and GM agreeing to expand in the state were incentives championed in last year's Legislative special session by Gov.

[61][62] On November 27, Nixon reportedly rejected calls for a new grand jury to decide whether to charge Wilson over Brown's killing.

[64] Following the death of State Auditor Tom Schweich, Nixon appointed Boone County Treasurer Nicole Galloway to fill the post in 2015.

[67] The appointment followed a July 2016 legal action in which Barrett et al. challenged the constitutionality of restricting funds for indigent defense.

[68] In an open letter to Nixon, Barrett cited Missouri Revised Statues Section 600.042.5(1)[69] as well as the 6th and 14th amendments to the United States Constitution as reasons for the controversial action.

Barrett blamed Nixon for the underfunding and understaffing of the public defender system and chose to appoint him because he was "the one attorney in the state who not only created the problem, but is in a unique position to address it.

[72] Ruth Petsch, Jackson County Missouri's chief public defender, cited the lack of funding for inadequate defense and 9 to 12 month delays in adjudication for indigent persons who often remain in jail and are unable to maintain active employment during that time.

[76] Nixon represented televangelist Jim Bakker in his lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt for allegedly selling false cures for the 2019-20 strains of coronavirus.