Joseph Edwin Maxwell (born March 17, 1957) is an American attorney who served as the 45th

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of the state of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. He is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

who also served in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

and the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

. To date, he is the last member of the Democratic Party to be elected Lieutenant Governor of Missouri.

Personal history

Joseph Edwin Maxwell was born in

Kirksville, Missouri Kirksville is the county seat and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri. Located in Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 census. Kirksville is home to two colleges: Truman State University and A.T. Still University. ...

and grew up on a farm near Rush Hill in rural

Audrain County, Missouri Audrain County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,962. Its county seat is Mexico. The county was organized December 13, 1836, and named for Colonel James Hunter Au ...

. He is a graduate of Community R-VI High School in Laddonia and received his higher education at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

. Maxwell earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Education from Mizzou in 1986, and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Missouri School of Law The University of Missouri School of Law (Mizzou Law or MU Law) is the law school of the University of Missouri. It is located on the university's main campus in Columbia, forty minutes from the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The sc ...

in 1990. Prior to receiving his higher education, Maxwell worked as a rural mail carrier for the U.S Postal Service and also operated a small business with his twin brother. Joe Maxwell is a military veteran who retired in 1995 with the rank of First Sergeant after twenty years in the Missouri National Guard. Maxwell and wife Sarah are the parents of three daughters. He later became an attorney in private practice in

Mexico, Missouri , image_skyline = Audrain County Missouri Courthouse.JPG , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = The Audrain County Courthouse in downtown Mexico. , image_flag = , image_seal = ...

with the firm of Hagan, Hamlett and Maxwell and Council Member of Missourians for a Balanced Energy Future.

Political history

Joe Maxwell served two terms in the

, being elected in 1990 and again in 1992. In 1994 Maxwell ran for and won election to the

representing the 18th District. He easily defeated Republican challenger James Lemon in 1998 to win reelection. Joe Maxwell was elected to statewide office in 2000, defeating Republican

Wendell Bailey Robert Wendell Bailey (born July 30, 1940) is an American politician from Missouri. He graduated from Southwest Missouri State University with a degree in Business Administration and owned an automobile dealership in Willow Springs. After servi ...

in the race for Missouri Lieutenant Governor. He chose not to run for the office again in 2004, citing his wife's health problems. http://www.sos.mo.gov/enrweb/statewideresults.asp?arc=1&eid=14

References

1957 births Lieutenant Governors of Missouri Living people Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Missouri lawyers Democratic Party Missouri state senators People from Kirksville, Missouri People from Audrain County, Missouri University of Missouri alumni People from Mexico, Missouri {{Missouri-politician-stub