John Russell Carnahan (; born July 10, 1958) is an American politician from the state of Missouri. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative for from 2005 to 2013. At the time, the district included the southern third of the city of St. Louis (known as South City) and most of the southern St. Louis suburbs including most of Jefferson County and all of Ste. Genevieve County. Some cities located in the district include: Webster Groves, Mehlville, Affton, and Oakville, and the southern suburbs of Arnold, Herculaneum, Pevely, Crystal City, Barnhart, Imperial, and Festus, as well as Ste. Genevieve in the neighboring Ste. Genevieve County. Dramatic losses in population in St. Louis in the 2010 Census contributed to Missouri losing a Congressional seat effective 2013. In the re-mapping of the state's congressional districts, Carnahan's district was dismantled. The bulk of the district, including Carnahan's home, was drawn into Missouri's 1st congressional district. The move placed Carnahan and William Lacy Clay Jr. in the same district; Carnahan lost the primary to Clay for the seat on August 7, 2012. Early life, education and career John Russell Carnahan was born in 1958 in Columbia, Missouri, and raised in Rolla. He is the son of the late Mel Carnahan, the former Governor of Missouri and posthumous U.S. Senator-elect, and Jean Carnahan (née Carpenter), who was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat to which her husband was posthumously elected. His grandfather, A. S. J. Carnahan, served in Congress for seven terms, and also as U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone. Russ Carnahan is a recipient of the Eagle Scout Award. His sister Robin Carnahan was elected to the office of secretary state in 2004 and again in 2008 in which she received the most votes cast for a single candidate in the state's history. His brother Randy was killed in the same plane crash that took the life of his father. Russ Carnahan received a bachelor's degree and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri. He worked as a private practice attorney prior to entering politics. U.S. House of Representatives Committee assignments Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Ranking Member) Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Committee