GOP rolls out welcome mat for Smith
Almost four years ago, the race for speaker of the Democratic-majority House of Representatives became the stuff of legend in Mississippi politics.
Then-Democrat Jeff Smith of Columbus, a sharp dresser with a handlebar mustache, a law degree and a penchant for voting with Republicans on controversial issues, lost in the third round of voting to Speaker Billy McCoy, an educated farmer and self-proclaimed populist Democrat with a blue-collar sense of style and leadership.
Heading into this year’s legislative races, Smith, elected to the House as a Democrat nearly two decades ago, announced he planned to run for speaker again. McCoy, meanwhile, decided to bow out of Mississippi politics after a three-decade career.
Clarion Ledger
6/5/11
