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Shhhhheeeeeeeeiiiitt.
~ Clay Davis' catchprase
Let me tell you something, brother. I step out the door, hit the corner of Mosher and Pennsylvania, you better believe my pockets are bulging. But by the time I get to Robert Street..… Yeah, but you give me 20,000 for a basketball and an air pump, I am pulling goodly on that for whatever, whoever comes at me. ‘Senator Clay, I gots to bury my mother, bail out my son, buy a new shirt for a job interview, pay my child’s asthma doctor.’ Takes me half an hour to go 100 yards. And excuse me if I didn’t ask that old arthritis woman for a receipt. Or that young mother needed the Similac to sign a damned piece of paper so I don’t have to be up here in this box right now explaining to folks who never been in our neck of the woods how things truly are. And if a jury of my peers, you all, deem it right and true for me to walk out of here, an upright and justified man, oh, I ain’t gonna lie to you. I’m gonna do the same damn thing tommorow, and the day after that, and the day after that, until they got me laid out at March’s Funeral home and truck me off to Mt. Auburn.”
~ Clay Davis' manipulating the jury in order to gain sympathy during his Federal Indictment.

Clayton "Clay" Davis is a major antagonist in the HBO series The Wire. He is a corrupt politician who represents a legislative district of Baltimore City in the Maryland State Senate.

He is portrayed by Isiah Whitlock Jr., who also portrayed Simon Brooks in Law & Order and Carmen Grant in Lucifer.

Personality[]

Clay Davis initially comes across as sociable, charming, and affable with a jocular and casual way of speaking. However this is nothing more than a facade to hide his nature; A corrupt Senator for the Maryland State Senate, he often uses his position of authority to exploit his constituents, whether they be fellow politicians, prosecutors, jurors, police officers, and even normal civilians.

Clay is a sly, cunning, unscrupulous, silver-tongued, manipulative, dual-faced, and greedy man. Although not seemingly murderous and power-hungry compared to characters like Avon Barksdale and Marlo Stanfield, he does profit off of the drug violence and enjoys using his position to bolster his own public image. His motives seem to center around money, and he is easily able to con even the smarter characters in the show, such as Stringer Bell and Tommy Carcetti.

Perhaps his most dangerous trait is his skills as an orator. Clay Davis is a bold and charismatic man who can feign emotions and play the crowd for sympathy. Even those who are aware of his crimes and his nature still often fall victim to his lies.

Season 1[]

When the Major crimes unit of BPD discovers $20,000 of drug money in the car of Davis's driver, they try to expand the wiretap-based investigation to include Davis. The Deputy Commissioner of the BPD, Ervin Burell, calls the head of Major crimes, Lt. Daniels into a private meeting with Davis, pressuring him into excluding the senator's alleged involvement. However, Daniels is unwilling to drop the case. Nevertheless, Burell pulls the plug on the investigation, and Clay Davis's involvement is effectively left buried. However, it is mentioned that Davis has a reputation for taking bribes, and has been under federal investigation for the last two years, further proving his corrupt nature.

Season 2[]

Davis attends a fundraiser thrown by union leader Frank Sobotka, accepting contributions in return for assurances that he would vote to construct the granary pier that Sobotka believes will help revitalize the union. After the press reports on criminal activities within the union, Sobotka's lobbyist advises him that none of the politicians—including Davis, presumably—will follow through. Davis is later seen at a groundbreaking ceremony for dockside condominiums being built on the site of the proposed granary pier.

Season 3[]

Davis acts as a suposed consultant for Russell "Stringer" Bell, taking bribes from the Barksdale Organization while claiming to win state government contracts for the drug empire's legitimate business front, B&B. However, Bell becomes suspicious when he learns that block grants have been given to several city developers instead of B&B. Maurice Levy, Bell's lawyer, concludes that Davis has "rain made" Bell; the senator has played off Stringer's inexperience in legitimate business, taking the money and doing nothing in return. Stringer, furious, attempts to put a contract on Davis's head, but Barksdale warns him that murdering a public figure will bring too much unwanted attention from the authorities. Soon after Stringer is killed, leaving Davis to get away scot free with hustling him.

Season 4[]

Tommy Carcetti is running against incumbent mayor Clarence Royce in the Baltimore mayoral election. Knowing he needs support from African-American voters in order to win in a primarily African-American city, Carcetti tries to win the support of Clay Davis, who has previously supported Royce, and who’s popularity as a Maryland State Senator would be invaluable. Davis agreed, on the condition that Carcetti gives him $20,000, and then negated on his deal by supporting Royce even after he was paid. When Royce lost and Carcetti won, Davis attended his celebration for becoming mayor. When Carcetti irritably reminds him that he conned him, Davis chuckled and says he could have taken Carcetti for 40.

Season 5[]

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