Cat Clayton didn’t follow the standard timeline you might expect for a politician. After getting married at 19, she spent her 20s juggling life as a military spouse while building a career in software and data engineering, becoming an experienced full-stack developer with a long, impressive client list. Now, at 30, she’s decided to take her talents elsewhere: the statehouse.
Clayton’s decision to run for the District 105 seat in the Missouri House of Representatives stems from local activism. Through local grassroots activist efforts toward government transparency, workers’ rights, and reproductive freedom, she learned more about Missouri politics and government and began noticing a disconnect — namely, between what local lawmakers were discussing and what everyday Missourians were actually experiencing. “The cost of living is too high. Our public education system needs a lot more support,” Clayton tells Her Campus. This frustration eventually pushed Clayton to do something about it herself. “When I was feeling it in my checkbook, and I looked around and noticed everyone was, I decided I’m going to do my best to try and change that.”
Although Clayton refers to herself as a lifelong Independent, she’s running as a Democrat in a district currently represented by a Republican. Clayton’s political identity is rooted less in party affiliation and more in her passion to represent the interests of her community. “I am very passionate about making sure that my decision-making is to the benefit of everyday Missourians,” Clayton says. That focus is also reflected in her approach to campaigning, where conversations with voters have shaped her understanding of what exactly they want from their local representatives. “People are tired of big money and big business in our politics,” Clayton says. “I hope to offer an alternative that isn’t going to be compromised by those things.”
Rather than approaching government through a traditional political lens, Clayton wants to bring the team-based, problem-solving mindset she developed in tech to the Missouri House. “I learned through engineering that the best leadership is very collaborative and that the best decisions are made with a team of people. I think that’s something our legislators are lacking right now,” Clayton says.
In engineering, Clayton explains, collaboration is how teams find “bugs, defects, and problems with the code or the logic.” She wants to apply that same mentality to government by listening to the people who are directly affected by legislation and using data to identify problems and potential solutions. “[I want to] bring that problem-solving logic and collaboration to the Missouri House so that people can’t get away with being illogical anymore.”
When you visit Clayton’s campaign website, two phrases immediately stand out: common sense and compassion. For Clayton, these aren’t just buzzwords; they represent how she believes lawmakers should approach the everyday issues affecting their communities. “Common sense is anything that affects the everyday person’s life,” Clayton says, pointing to issues such as grocery costs, gas prices, and the needs of children. “Compassion means being able to walk in another person’s shoes, even as a thought experiment, so that whenever we’re making decisions, we don’t just think about what affects us, but what also might affect our neighbor who has a different life.”
Clayton’s understanding of economic pressure is personal too. When living on a military base with her husband, Clayton experienced the financial strain that comes with trying to build a life as a young person without much money. The couple shared one car, so Clayton would bike to her job at Starbucks, come home, eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and spend time with her dog. “Feeling that economic stress while supporting a service member and being absolutely in love with my life really exemplifies how, as people, we don’t need to be rich to be happy, but we need our basic needs met,” Clayton says.
Public education is another major part of Clayton’s campaign. She wants Missouri to invest more in schools and teachers, particularly when it comes to teacher pay and retention. But rather than entering office with a list of solutions, Clayton says she wants to ask educators what they actually need. “I haven’t been an educator, so I’m not going to go in on some idealistic power trip and say ‘this is what you guys have to do,’” Clayton says. “I’m going to ask what would help them best provide for young Missourians.”
Beyond her individual platform positions, Clayton hopes her campaign can show young people that political participation doesn’t have to look a certain way. “I want them to take away that they can get involved, even if they don’t look like a standard politician,” Clayton says. “Everybody has a voice in politics, and everybody can get started.”
And for young people who feel exhausted and frustrated with politics, Clayton has a message: “Being dissatisfied is the starting place for finding a solution. If you are unhappy with the way things are, if you’ve lost faith, if you don’t trust your government, you can become the government.”
The following responses have been edited for length and clarity.
What are the top three issues you’re running on?
Lower costs, public education, and government transparency.
What book should everyone read?
1984 by George Orwell.
What’s one song that belongs on your campaign playlist?
“White Flag Warrior” by Flobots.
What’s your favorite thing about Missouri?
The national parks.
What’s one thing you could never live without?
Music.
What’s your most controversial food opinion?
I like ketchup with my roast beef.
What instantly makes you laugh?
People being cute.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
To find comfort in the discomfort.