Lillian Exum Clement also known as Lillian Stafford after marrying, was the first woman elected to the North Carolina General Assembly

North Carolina General Assembly

The North Carolina General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The General Assembly drafts and legislates the state laws of North Carolina, also known as the General Statutes...

 and the first woman to serve in any state legislature in the Southern United States.

Clement attended high school in Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...

 and then Asheville Business College. She took a job as a deputy sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 and studied law at night with private tutors. After earning one of the highest scores on the bar exam among 70 students, she became a criminal lawyer, the first female attorney in North Carolina without male partners.

In 1920, the Buncombe County

Buncombe County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 206,330 people, 85,776 households, and 55,668 families residing in the county. The population density was 314 people per square mile . There were 93,973 housing units at an average density of 143 per square mile...

 Democratic Party asked the 26-year-old Clement to run for a seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives

North Carolina House of Representatives

The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the state senate....

. She beat two male opponents in the primary election

Primary election

A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

, shortly before the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution had passed. In the general election, Clement was elected by a margin of 10,368 to 41. She served one term in the House (1921). While in office, she introduced at least seventeen bills, many of which were passed.

After her marriage to E. Eller Stafford in 1921, Clement decided not to run for office a second time. She died of pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

in 1925.

A North Carolina Democratic fund-raising group is called "Lillian's List" in her honor.