William Lacy Clay

	William Lacy Clay
	U.S. House, Missouri, District 1
	Incumbent
	In office
	January 3, 2001-Present
	Term ends
	January 3, 2015
Years in position	12
Party	Democratic
Predecessor	William L. Clay, Sr. (D)
	Compensation
Base salary	$174,000/year
	Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 7, 2000
Next election	November 4, 2014
Campaign $	$4,148,261
Term limits	N/A
	Prior offices
	Missouri Senate from the 4th district
	1991–2001
	Missouri House of Representatives from the 59th district
	1983-1991
	Education
Bachelor's	University of Maryland, College Park
	Personal
Birthday	July 27, 1956
Place of birth	St. Louis, Missouri
Profession	Paralegal
Net worth	$0
Religion	Non-denominational Protestant
Websites
	Office website
	Campaign website
	William Lacy Clay campaign logo

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William Lacy Clay, Jr. (b. July 27, 1956) is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri. Clay was elected by voters from Missouri's 1st congressional district. Clay was first elected to the House in 2000. He ran for re-election in 2012.

Clay defeated fellow incumbent Russ Carnahan in the Democratic primary on August 7, 2012.^[1] He was re-elected on November 6, 2012.^[2]

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Clay is a "rank-and-file Democrat".^[3]

Biography

Clay, Jr. was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended the University of Maryland-College Park, from which he earned a degree in political science and certification to be a paralegal.^[4]

Career

Clay worked as a paralegal before entering the Missouri House of Representatives in 1983.

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Clay serves on the following committees:^[5]

United States House Committee on Financial Services
- Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance
- Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade - Ranking Minority Member
United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
- Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service, and The Census

2011-2012

Clay served on the following committees:^[6]

Financial Services Committee
- Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity
- Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology
Oversight and Government Reform Committee
- Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives

Issues

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Clay voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.^[7]

Elections

2012

Clay was seeking re-election in 2012. He defeated fellow incumbent Russ Carnahan and challenger Candice Britton in the Democratic primary. ^[8]^[9] He was re-elected on November 6, 2012.^[10]

U.S. House, Missouri, District 1 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William Lacy Clay Incumbent	78.7%	267,927
	Republican	Robyn Hamlin	17.9%	60,832
	Libertarian	Robb E. Cunningham	3.5%	11,824
Total Votes				340,583
Source: Missouri Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Missouri's 1st Congressional District Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
William Lacy Clay Incumbent	63.3%	57,672
Russ Carnahan Incumbent	33.9%	30,911
Candice Britton	2.8%	2,566
Total Votes		91,149

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for William Lacy Clay, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, William Lacy Clay won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Robyn Hamlin (R) and Robb E. Cunningham (L) in the general election.^[11]

U.S. House Missouri District 1 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William Clay Lacy incumbent	78.7%	267,927
	Republican	Robyn Hamlin	17.9%	60,832
	Libertarian	Robb E. Cunningham	3.5%	11,824
Total Votes				340,583

2008

On November 4, 2008, William Lacy Clay won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Robb E. Cunningham (L) and Damien Johnson, write-in in the general election.^[12]

U.S. House, Missouri District 1 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William Lacy Clay incumbent	88.1%	242,570
	Libertarian	Robb E. Cunningham	11.9%	32,700
	Write-in	Damien Johnson	0%	7
Total Votes				275,277

2006

On November 7, 2006, William Lacy Clay won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Mark J. Byrne (R) and Robb E. Cunningham (L) in the general election.^[13]

U.S. House, Missouri District 1 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William Lacy Clay incumbent	72.9%	141,574
	Republican	Mark J. Byrne	24.7%	47,893
	Libertarian	Robb E. Cunningham	2.5%	4,768
Total Votes				194,235

2004

On November 2, 2004, William Lacy Clay won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Leslie L. Farr II (R), Terry Chadwick (L) and Robert Rehbein (Constitution) in the general election.^[14]

U.S. House, Missouri District 1 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William Lacy Clay incumbent	73%	213,658
	Republican	Leslie L. Farr II	22.1%	64,791
	Libertarian	Terry Chadwick	1.3%	3,937
	Constitution	Robert Rehbein	3.6%	10,404
Total Votes				292,790

2002

On November 5, 2002, William Lacy Clay won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Richard Schwadron (R) and Jim Higgins (L) in the general election.^[15]

U.S. House, Missouri District 1 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William Lacy Clay incumbent	70.1%	133,946
	Republican	Richard Schwadron	27.1%	51,755
	Libertarian	Jim Higgins	2.8%	5,354
Total Votes				191,055

2000

On November 7, 2000, William Lacy Clay won election to the United States House. He defeated Z. Dwight Billingsly (R), Brenda (Ziah) Reddick (Green), Tamara A. Millay (L) and Robert Penningroth (Reform) in the general election.^[16]

U.S. House, Missouri District 1 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William Lacy Clay	75.2%	149,173
	Republican	Z. Dwight Billingsly	21.5%	42,730
	Green	Brenda (Ziah) Reddick	1.6%	3,099
	Libertarian	Tamara A. Millay	1.1%	2,253
	Reform	Robert Penningroth	0.6%	1,092
Total Votes				198,347

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Clay is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Clay raised a total of $4,148,261 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 16, 2013.^[17]

William Lacy Clay's Campaign Contribution History
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2012	U.S. House (Missouri, District 1)		$866,834
2010	U.S. House (Missouri, District 1)		$693,370
2008	U.S. House (Missouri, District 1)		$674,852
2006	U.S. House (Missouri, District 1)		$443,363
2004	U.S. House (Missouri, District 1)		$369,305
2002	U.S. House (Missouri, District 1)		$349,690
2000	U.S. House (Missouri, District 1)		$750,847
Grand Total Raised			$4,148,261

2012

Breakdown of the source of Clay's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Clay was re-elected to the U.S. House for a seventh term in 2012. His campaign committee raised a total of $866,835 and spent $991,857.^[18]

U.S. House of Representatives, 2012 - William Lacy Clay Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$866,835
Total Spent	$991,857
Total Raised by Election Runner-up	$12,422
Total Spent by Election Runner-up	$7,908
Top contributors to William Lacy Clay's campaign committee
Rent-A-Center	$13,000
National Assn of Realtors	$10,700
Anheuser-Busch InBev	$10,500
Express Scripts	$10,300
American Postal Workers Union	$10,000
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Lawyers/Law Firms	$44,350
Public Sector Unions	$42,000
Misc Services	$39,750
Building Trade Unions	$38,700
Real Estate	$34,850

2010

Breakdown of the source of Clay's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Clay was re-elected to the U.S. House for a sixth term in 2010. His campaign committee raised a total of $693,370 and spent $635,944.^[19]

U.S. House, Missouri, 2010 - William Lacy Clay Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$693,370
Total Spent	$635,944
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$23,930
Total Spent by General Election Opponent	$24,012
Top contributors to William Lacy Clay's campaign committee
Boeing Co	$15,010
AT&T Inc	$10,500
Rent-A-Center	$10,250
American Postal Workers Union	$10,000
Assn of Progressive Rental Organizations	$10,000
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Public Sector Unions	$57,500
Building Trade Unions	$41,500
Finance/Credit Companies	$35,350
Insurance	$28,000
Misc Services	$25,500

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack,Clay missed 607 of 8,660 roll call votes from Jan 2001 to Apr 2013, which is 7.0% of votes during that period. This is worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.^[20]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Clay paid his congressional staff a total of $1,105,626 in 2011. Overall, Missouri ranks 21st in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.^[21]

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Net worth information for William Lacy Clay is not available for 2011.^[22]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Clay's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $4,004 to $60,000. This yields an average net worth of $32,002, which is lower than the average net worth of Democrats in 2010 of $4,465,875.^[23]

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.

2012

According to the data released in 2013, Clay was ranked one of the most liberal representatives during 2012. There are thirteen other representatives that share this ranking.^[24]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, William Lacy Clay was ranked one of the most liberal representatives during 2011. This is a position shared by eighteen other representatives.^[25]

Percentage voting with party

November 2011

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, William Lacy Clay voted with the Democratic Party 92.1% of the time, which ranked 118th among the 192 House Democratic members in November 2011.^[26]

Personal

Lacy and his wife are divorced, but have two children - Carol and Will.^[27]

Recent news

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