Clinton worked with future two-term mayor of Dallas Ron Kirk,[40] future governor of Texas Ann Richards,[41] and then unknown television director and filmmaker Steven Spielberg.[42]

Failed congressional campaign and tenure as Attorney General of Arkansas
Further information: Electoral history of Bill Clinton
After graduating from Yale Law School, Clinton returned to Arkansas and became a law professor at the University of Arkansas. In 1974, he ran for the House of Representatives. Running in the conservative 3rd district against incumbent Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt, Clinton's campaign was bolstered by the anti-Republican and anti-incumbent mood resulting from the Watergate scandal. Hammerschmidt, who had received 77 percent of the vote in 1972, defeated Clinton by only a 52 percent to 48 percent margin. In 1976, Clinton ran for Arkansas attorney general. Defeating the secretary of state and the deputy attorney general in the Democratic primary, Clinton was elected with no opposition at all in the general election, as no Republican had run for the office.[43][12]

Governor of Arkansas (1979–1981, 1983–1992)
Main article: Governorships of Bill Clinton
Newly elected Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton meets with President Jimmy Carter, 1978
In 1978, Clinton entered the Arkansas gubernatorial primary. 