Democrat · South Carolina's 6th District · 2026
Jim Clyburn
Clyburn met his late wife, Emily, when both were jailed after a civil rights demonstration as college students in 1960.
Biography
Jim Clyburn met his late wife, Emily, in an Orangeburg jail after they were arrested as college students protesting segregation in 1960.1 Their marriage lasted 58 years, and they raised three daughters.1 His mother ran a beauty shop in Sumter and encouraged his childhood interest in public service.2
Before college, he graduated from Mather Academy in Camden, South Carolina.2 The son of a minister and a beautician, Clyburn graduated from South Carolina State in 1961 and began working as a history teacher in Charleston.1 He later worked for Governor John West and spent nearly 18 years leading South Carolina's Human Affairs Commission before entering Congress in January 1993.2
Clyburn has twice served as House majority whip, most recently from 2019 through 2022.1 He sponsored the House proposal to expand the Brown v. Board of Education historical park.3 A Senate version became law in May 2022, authorizing South Carolina school sites and affiliated sites in other jurisdictions to help tell the broader desegregation story.45
He currently leads Democrats on the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing transportation, housing and urban development.1 The Democratic Faith Working Group he chairs emphasizes protecting SNAP and other aid programs, expanding broadband and strengthening gun safety laws.6 He faces Republican John Peterson.7
Record and controversies
Congressional pay lawsuit
A March 2026 report identified Clyburn among the lawmakers suing for back pay over Congress's repeated freezes on automatic cost of living salary adjustments.8 The plaintiffs argue that the Constitution's 27th Amendment prevents those pay changes from taking effect before an election of Representatives intervenes.9 In May 2026, the court accepted that timing principle but left other issues for further briefing; that opinion did not award back pay.9 Clyburn's office declined comment for the March report.8
The latest decision read for this note is dated May 20, 2026. A later disposition or payment was not verified. This is constitutional litigation brought by lawmakers, not a criminal or ethics finding against Clyburn.