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Murrell Smith Jr.

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(Redirected from G. Murrell Smith Jr.) American politician
Murrell Smith
61st Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 12, 2022
Preceded byJay Lucas
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
from the 67th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2001
Preceded byMac McLeod
Personal details
BornGeorge Murrell Smith Jr.
(1968-05-15) May 15, 1968 (age 56)
Florence, South Carolina, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse Macaulay White ​(m. 2004)​
Children2
EducationWofford College (BA)
University of South Carolina (JD)
Occupation
  • Lawyer
  • politician

George Murrell Smith Jr. (born May 15, 1968) is an American politician and the 61st Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Since 2001, he has represented the 67th district of South Carolina for Sumter and Sumter County.

Political career

George Smith was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 67th District in 2001, and has held this seat since. He is a member of the Republican Party. In his time as a representative, he has mostly run in uncontested races, barring Libertarian Party challenger, Brandon Humphries, whom he overwhelmingly defeated.

On December 5, 2018, Smith was appointed as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee by Speaker of the House Jay Lucas. Smith previously served as chairman of the Health and Human Services Subcommittee and has sat on the House Ways and Means Committee since 2009.

In April 2022, Smith was elected unanimously by the House to succeed Jay Lucas as Speaker of the House of Representatives. He assumed office on May 12, 2022. Smith was challenged by Bill Chumley, a member of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus, for the position in December 2024, and defeated him in a 102-17 vote.

Since Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Smith has been vocal in his support for restricting access to abortion in the state of South Carolina. After the South Carolina Supreme Court voted 3-2 to nullify a six-week abortion ban, Smith criticized the court as creating “a constitutional right to an abortion where none exists.”

Electoral History

2008 SC House of Representatives

In 2008, Smith ran unopposed in both the primary and general election.

2010 SC House of Representatives

In 2010, Smith ran unopposed in both the primary and general election.

2012 SC House of Representatives

Smith ran unopposed in the Republican primary in 2012.

South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Murrell Smith Jr. (incumbent) 11,696 99.1
Other Write-Ins 106 0.9
Total votes 11,802 100.0
Republican hold

2014 SC House of Representatives

In 2014, Smith ran unopposed in both the primary and general election.

2016 SC House of Representatives

In 2016, Smith ran unopposed in both the primary and general election.

2018 SC House of Representatives

Smith ran uncontested in the Republican primary in 2018.

South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 General Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Murrell Smith Jr. (incumbent) 8,640 82.2
Libertarian Brandon Humphries 1,811 17.2
Total votes 10,515 100.0
Republican hold

2020 SC House of Representatives

The Republican primary was cancelled in 2020.

South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 General Election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Murrell Smith Jr. (incumbent) 13,834 97.3
Other Write-ins 390 2.7
Total votes 14,224 100.0
Republican hold

2022 SC House of Representatives

The Republican primary was cancelled in 2022.

South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 General Election, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Murrell Smith Jr. (incumbent) 9,705 98.4
Other Write-in 155 1.6
Total votes 9,860 100.0
Republican hold

Personal life

Born in Florence, South Carolina, Smith spent the majority of his childhood in Sumter, South Carolina, where he attended Wilson Hall School. He graduated in 1986 and enrolled at Wofford College, where he completed his B.A. in Forms of Government in 1990. After earning his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1993, Smith began practicing law in his hometown of Sumter: first as a public defender and later as partner at Lee, Erter, Wilson, Holler & Smith, LLC. He and his wife, Macaulay, have two children: Mary Brown "Bee" Smith and George Murrell Smith III.

References

  1. "South Carolina Legislature Online - Member Biography". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  2. ^ "Murrel Smith". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  3. "Sumter's Smith handily beats first opponent since being elected to House". The Sumter Item. 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  4. ^ "South Carolina House elects new speaker". WBTW. 2022-04-28. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  5. Greene, Mary. "SC House unanimously elects next Speaker". WISTV. WISTV. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  6. "South Carolina House Republicans and Democrats stick with same leadership for upcoming legislative session". WCBD News 2. 2024-12-04. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  7. "South Carolina Supreme Court strikes down state abortion ban". PBS NewsHour. 2023-01-05. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  8. "Rep. Murrell Smith elected as new SC House speaker". WCBD News 2. 2022-04-28. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
Political offices
Preceded byJay Lucas Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives
2022–present 		Incumbent
Statewide political officials of South Carolina
U.S. senators
State government
Senate
House
Supreme Court
Speakers of U.S. lower houses
United States House of Representatives: ▌Mike Johnson (R)
AL ▌Ledbetter (R), ▌Pringle (R) AK ▌Tilton (R/C) AZ ▌Toma (R), ▌Grantham (R) AR ▌Shepherd (R), ▌Eubanks (R) CA ▌Rivas (D), ▌Wood (D) CO ▌McCluskie (D), ▌Kennedy (D) CT ▌Ritter (D), ▌Godfrey (D) DE ▌Vacant FL ▌Perez (R), ▌Duggan (R) GA ▌Burns (R), ▌Jones (R) HI ▌Nakamura (D), ▌Ichiyama (D) ID ▌Moyle (R) IL ▌Welch (D), ▌Gordon-Booth (D) IN ▌Huston (R), ▌Karickhoff (R) IA ▌Grassley (R), ▌Wills (R) KS ▌Hawkins (R), ▌Carpenter (R) KY ▌Osborne (R), ▌Meade (R) LA ▌DeVillier (R), ▌Johnson (R) ME ▌Fecteau (D) MD ▌Jones (D), ▌Stein (D) MA ▌Mariano (D), ▌Hogan (D) MI ▌Tate (D), ▌Pohutsky (D) MN ▌Hortman (DFL), ▌Wolgamott (DFL) MS ▌White (R), ▌Barton (R) MO ▌Plocher (R), ▌Henderson (R) MT ▌Regier (R), ▌Knudsen (R) NE ▌Kelly (R), ▌Arch (R)* NV ▌Yeager (D), ▌Monroe-Moreno (D) NH ▌Packard (R), ▌Sanborn (R) NJ ▌Coughlin (D), ▌Wimberly (D) NM ▌Martínez (D) NY ▌Heastie (D), ▌Aubry (D) NC ▌Moore (R), ▌Stevens (R) ND ▌Weisz (R) OH ▌Stephens (R), ▌Oelslager (R) OK ▌McCall (R), ▌Hilbert (R) OR ▌Fahey (D), ▌Holvey (D) PA ▌McClinton (D) RI ▌Shekarchi (D), ▌Kennedy (D) SC ▌Smith (R), ▌Pope (R) SD ▌Bartels (R), ▌Stevens (R) TN ▌Sexton (R), ▌Marsh (R) TX ▌Phelan (R), ▌Geren (R) UT ▌Schultz (R), ▌Dunnigan (R) VT ▌Krowinski (D) VA ▌Scott (D) WA ▌Jinkins (D), ▌Vacant WV WI ▌Vos (R), ▌Petersen (R) WY ▌Sommers (R), ▌Stith (R) Federal districts: DC ▌Mendelson (D)*Territories: AS ▌Ale (R) GU ▌Terlaje (D)* MP ▌Villagomez (I) PR ▌Hernández (PPD/D), ▌Varela (PPD/D) VI ▌Francis (D)*
Italics indicate speakers pro tempore
*Unicameral body
Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives
Speaker of the House
Jay Lucas (R)
Speaker pro tempore
Tommy Pope (R)
Majority Leader
Gary Simrill (R)
Minority Leader
Todd Rutherford (D)
  1. ▌Bill Whitmire (R)
  2. ▌Adam L. Duncan (R)
  3. ▌Phillip Bowers (R)
  4. ▌Davey Hiott (R)
  5. ▌Neal Collins (R)
  6. ▌April Cromer (R)
  7. ▌Lee Gilreath (R)
  8. ▌Don Chapman (R)
  9. ▌Blake Sanders (R)
  10. ▌Thomas Beach (R)
  11. ▌Craig A. Gagnon (R)
  12. ▌Daniel Gibson (R)
  13. ▌John R. McCravy III (R)
  14. ▌Luke Rankin (R)
  15. ▌JA Moore (D)
  16. ▌Mark N. Willis (R)
  17. ▌Mike Burns (R)
  18. ▌Alan Morgan (R)
  19. ▌Patrick Haddon (R)
  20. ▌Stephen Frank (R)
  21. ▌Bobby Cox (R)
  22. ▌Paul Wickensimer (R)
  23. ▌Chandra Dillard (D)
  24. ▌Bruce W. Bannister (R)
  25. ▌Wendell K. Jones (D)
  26. ▌David Martin (R)
  27. ▌David Vaughan (R)
  28. ▌Chris Huff (R)
  29. ▌Dennis Moss (R)
  30. ▌Brian Lawson (R)
  31. ▌Rosalyn Henderson-Myers (D)
  32. ▌Scott Montgomery (R)
  33. ▌Travis Moore (R)
  34. ▌Sarita Edgerton (R)
  35. ▌Bill Chumley (R)
  36. ▌Rob Harris (R)
  37. ▌Steven Wayne Long (R)
  38. ▌Josiah Magnuson (R)
  39. ▌Cal Forrest (R)
  40. ▌Joseph S. White (R)
  41. ▌Annie McDaniel (D)
  42. ▌Doug Gilliam (R)
  43. ▌Randy Ligon (R)
  44. ▌Mike Neese (R)
  45. ▌Brandon Michael Newton (R)
  46. ▌Heath Sessions (R)
  47. ▌Tommy Pope (R)
  48. ▌Brandon Guffey (R)
  49. ▌John Richard C. King (D)
  50. ▌Will Wheeler (D)
  51. ▌J. David Weeks (D)
  52. ▌Jermaine L. Johnson (D)
  53. ▌Richie Yow (R)
  54. ▌Jason S. Luck (D)
  55. ▌Jackie E. Hayes (D)
  56. ▌Tim McGinnis (R)
  57. ▌Lucas Atkinson (D)
  58. ▌Jeff Johnson (R)
  59. ▌Terry Alexander (D)
  60. ▌Phillip Lowe (R)
  61. ▌Carla Schuessler (R)
  62. ▌Robert Q. Williams (D)
  63. ▌Jay Jordan (R)
  64. ▌Fawn Pedalino (R)
  65. ▌Cody Mitchell (R)
  66. ▌Jackie Terribile (R)
  67. ▌G. Murrell Smith Jr. (R)
  68. ▌Heather Ammons Crawford (R)
  69. ▌Chris Wooten (R)
  70. ▌Robert Reese (D)
  71. ▌Nathan Ballentine (R)
  72. ▌Seth Rose (D)
  73. ▌Chris R. Hart (D)
  74. ▌Todd Rutherford (D)
  75. ▌Heather Bauer (D)
  76. ▌Leon Howard (D)
  77. ▌Kambrell Garvin (D)
  78. ▌Beth Bernstein (D)
  79. ▌Hamilton R. Grant (D)
  80. ▌Katherine D. Landing (R)
  81. ▌Charles V. Hartz (R)
  82. ▌Bill Clyburn (D)
  83. ▌Bill Hixon (R)
  84. ▌Melissa Lackey Oremus (R)
  85. ▌Jay Kilmartin (R)
  86. ▌Bill Taylor (R)
  87. ▌Paula Rawl Calhoon (R)
  88. ▌RJ May (R)
  89. ▌Micah Caskey (R)
  90. ▌Justin Bamberg (D)
  91. ▌Lonnie Hosey (D)
  92. ▌Brandon Cox (R)
  93. ▌Jerry Govan Jr. (D)
  94. ▌Gil Gatch (R)
  95. ▌Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D)
  96. ▌Ryan McCabe (R)
  97. ▌Robby Robbins (R)
  98. ▌Chris Murphy (R)
  99. ▌Mark Smith (R)
  100. ▌Sylleste Davis (R)
  101. ▌Roger K. Kirby (D)
  102. ▌Harriet Holman (R)
  103. ▌Carl Anderson (D)
  104. ▌William Bailey (R)
  105. ▌Kevin Hardee (R)
  106. ▌Val Guest (R)
  107. ▌Case Brittain (R)
  108. ▌Lee Hewitt (R)
  109. ▌Tiffany Spann-Wilder (D)
  110. ▌Tom Hartnett (R)
  111. ▌Wendell Gilliard (D)
  112. ▌Joe Bustos (R)
  113. ▌Vacant
  114. ▌Gary Brewer (R)
  115. ▌Spencer Wetmore (D)
  116. ▌James Teeple (R)
  117. ▌Jordan Pace (R)
  118. ▌Bill Herbkersman (R)
  119. ▌Leon Stavrinakis (D)
  120. ▌Weston J. Newton (R)
  121. ▌Michael F. Rivers Sr. (D)
  122. ▌Bill Hager (R)
  123. ▌Jeff Bradley (R)
  124. ▌Shannon Erickson (R)


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