Clay Schexnayder

Clay John Schexnayder (; born February 25, 1969) is an American businessman and politician from Ascension Parish, Louisiana. A Republican, he has served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 2012 to 2024, and as speaker of the House from 2020 to 2024.

Early life and education Schexnayder is the son of Perry P. Schexnayder and the former Dorothy Ann Demars (1937–2009). His grandfather Harold "Pocahontas" Schexnayder was a longtime Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries game warden, and he spent much of his childhood in the Maurepas Swamp area.

In 1989, Schexnayder graduated from French Settlement High School. Two years later, he graduated from the Allen Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, where he trained as an automotive mechanic. which encompasses parts of four parishes: Livingston, Ascension, St. James, and St. John the Baptist.

In 2016, Schexnayder sponsored legislation to repeal Louisiana's motorcycle helmet law, making it legal for motorcyclists ages 21 and up to ride motorcycles without head protection; the bill failed to pass on a 48–32 vote, falling short of the 53 votes required for the bill to advance.

In 2016, Schexnayder was named to the executive committee of the Louisiana Legislative Rural Caucus for the 2016–2017 term.

As chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Schexnayder opposed a bill in 2018 to allow florists to work without passing a 40-question licensing exam. Louisiana is the only state that requires occupational licensing for florists. The bill, introduced by Representative Julie Emerson, was supported by Governor John Bel Edwards, and was supported by various organizations favoring occupational-licensing reform, such as Institute for Justice and Americans for Prosperity. Schexnayder defended the florist-licensure requirement, framing it as a consumer-protection measure.

Speaker of the state House (2020–2024) In January 2020, Schexnayder won the post of speaker of the House after some Democrats supported him, while most of the Republican representatives supported a different candidate for the post, Livingston Republican Sherman Mack. In the House floor vote, Schexnayder defeated Mack, 60–45, thus surpassing the 53 votes needed to win the speakership. The other 45 Republicans voted for Mack. and the most powerful Louisiana Republicans (such as U.S. Senator John Kennedy, state Attorney General Jeff Landry and megadonor Lane Grigsby), including the members most hostile to Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards, supported Mack's candidacy although Republicans retained decisive majorities on all committees. However, the bill failed to advance in the Senate.

House Republicans have 68 seats in the state House, short of the 70 votes needed to override a veto. During the session, Republicans sought to override two of Edwards' vetoes: a veto of a bill to ban transgender girls from participating in school sports, and a veto of a bill allowing the carrying of concealed handguns without a permit, safety training, or background check. Schexnayder retaliated by ousting two different Democrats from committee chairmanships (Chad Brown was removed from the chairmanship of the House Insurance Committee and Vincent Pierre from the chairmanship of the Transportation Committee) and replacing them with Republicans.

In 2021, Schexnayder ousted Representative Ray Garofalo from his chairmanship of the House Education Committee as part of an intra-party Republican feud over Garofalo's support for a bill that would ban public schools or colleges from teaching that the U.S. or the State of Louisiana is "systematically racist or sexist" and ban the provision of information that "promotes divisive concepts." This bill was similar to bills pushed by Republicans in other states.

Campaign for secretary of state

In 2023, Schexnayder publicly considered a potential run for governor. In April 2023, after Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced he would not seek reelection, Schexnayder announced he would run for the position, and said he had raised $900,000 for his campaign. He finished fourth in the jungle primary, with 14.69% of the vote.

Personal life Schexnayder and his wife, Phoebe (née Keller), have four children and several grandchildren.