J. M. "Jim" Whorton is the owner of an automobile sales business and a former Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 member of the Missouri House of Representatives

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 31,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections held in even-numbered years.In 1992 Missouri...

. He resides with his wife, Beverly, in Trenton, Missouri

Trenton, Missouri

Trenton is a city in Grundy County, Missouri, United States. The population was 6,006 in 2009. The population according to the 2000 census was 6,216, indicating a 3.4% decrease in population from 2000 to 2009. It is the county seat of Grundy County...

.

He was born in southwestern Grundy County, Missouri, and graduated from Trenton High School. He went on to Trenton Junior College, and received a B.S. degree in agriculture from the University of Missouri

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

. He continued with post-graduate work there and at the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

. He also served nine years with the United States Air National Guard

Air National Guard

The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...

 and Reserves.

He is a member of the Wesley United Methodist Church, Trenton Masonic Lodge

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

 #111, Alpha Gamma Rho

Alpha Gamma Rho

Alpha Gamma Rho is a social-professional fraternity in the United States, with 75 university chapters including chapter in Mindanao State University, Philippines...

 Fraternity, the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce, the National Rifle Association

National Rifle Association

The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...

, the American Legion

American Legion

The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...

, the Elks

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...

Lodge, and the Missouri and Grundy County Farm Bureaus.

He was first elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in a special election in 2001, and won re-election in 2002, 2004, and 2006. Mr. Whorton was term-lmited under Missouri law from running for reelection in 2008.