William Jefferson Blythe Jr. lost control of his 1942 Buick on U.S. Route 60 outside of Sikeston, Missouri, after one of his car's tires blew out. He survived the accident after being thrown from the car, but drowned in a drainage ditch as he tried to pull his way out of the three feet (1 meter) of water in the ditch. Three months later, Blythe's widow, Virginia, gave birth to their son, whom she named William Jefferson Blythe III in honor of his father and grandfather. In 1950, Blythe's widow married Roger Clinton Sr.; 12 years later, Blythe's posthumous son legally adopted his stepfather's
William J. Jefferson Governor of Louisiana, 1999 Threshold > 50% First Ballot, October 23, 1999 U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2000 Threshold > 50% First Ballot, November 7, 2000 U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2002 Threshold > 50% First Ballot, November 5, 2002 U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2004 Threshold > 50% First Ballot, November 2, 2004 U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2006 Threshold > 50% First Ballot, November 7, 2006 Second Ballot, December 9, 2006 U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2008 William J. Jefferson William Jennings "Bill" Jefferson (born March 14, 1947) is a former Louisiana politician.