Biography:

William J. Jefferson was born in Lake Providence, La., and resides in New Orleans. He received a bachelor's degree from Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., in 1969, a law degree from Harvard University Law School in 1972, and a Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University in 1996.

He served in the Army Reserves from 1969 to 1978. Jefferson was a legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Bennett Johnston from 1973 to 1974, and a U.S. District Court clerk from 1972 to 1973. He practiced law from 1976 to 1990.

He has served on the boards of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, Kingsley House and Goodwill Industries.

He was elected to the state Senate in 1979 and served from 1980 to 1990.

Jefferson won a seat in the U.S. House in 1990 and was re-elected to seven consecutive terms. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1995. Jefferson and his wife, Andrea, have five children.

Past Campaigns:

William Jefferson was elected to the U.S. House in 1990 with 52 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Marc Morial for a seat vacated by retiring Democrat Rep. Lindy Boggs. Jefferson received only token opposition in 1992 and 1994. In 1992, Jefferson received 73 percent of the vote in a three-man race. In 1994, he received 75 percent against four others. He was uncontested in 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002.

Jefferson served in the Louisiana Senate, from 1980 to 1990. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor of New Orleans in 1982 and 1986. In 1995 and 1999, Jefferson ran unsuccessfully for governor.

Election Information by State: Select a State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware DC Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Mass. Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hamp. New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming -------------------------   Candidate Search Find candidate running for federal and state offices. Candidate Last Name State (Optional) All Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware DC Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Mass. Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hamp. New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming ------------------------- Office Type (Optional) All President U.S. Senate U.S. House Governor State Office Local Office