Representative Jim Clyburn is guided every day by the motto “service above self and principles above politics.” He was born and raised in South Carolina, and in 1970, he ran for a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives. Despite narrowly losing that race, Representative Clyburn caught the eye of Governor John Carl West, who made him the first minority advisor to a South Carolina governor and later appointed him to be the state’s human affairs commissioner. In 1992, he left state politics to run for federal office and became South Carolina’s first African American congressman in nearly 100 years. For over three decades, Representative Clyburn has made a name for himself as a bold leader in Washington DC, where he has served in numerous leadership roles, culminating in his time as House majority whip. 

For Representative Clyburn, the fight to end gun violence is one of the utmost importance. On June 17, 2015, a white supremacist shot and killed nine African American worshippers at the Emanuel AME Church just outside of his district in Charleston. Although the shooter in this case should have failed a background check, delays in the process allowed for the sale of the gun used in this tragedy to proceed after just three days. Representative Clyburn has since championed legislation to close this dangerous loophole in our federal gun laws and has consistently introduced the Enhanced Background Checks Act, which would give law enforcement more time to complete background checks. The House passed this landmark legislation in both 2019 and 2021, and Representative Clyburn has proven time and again that he will not stop fighting for this commonsense change until it’s signed into law. 

Throughout his career, Representative Clyburn has proven his ability to bring together diverse coalitions and enact real change. This fall, we need to make sure he is back on Capitol Hill passing legislation that will ensure that tragedies like the one in Charleston never happen again and building on successes like the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. With Representative Jim Clyburn leading the charge on this issue, we know that future generations of South Carolinians can one day live in a world free of gun violence.

We are proud to endorse Jim Clyburn for the US House of Representatives.