# Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives

The speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the South Carolina House of Representatives, whose main role is to ensure that general order is maintained in the house by recognizing members to speak, ensuring members are following established rules, and to call for votes. The speaker is third in the line of succession behind the lieutenant governor and the president of the senate. The current speaker is Murrell Smith, Jr., a Republican who has held the position since May 12, 2022.

## History

James Parsons was the first speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives, elected in 1776 after the adoption of South Carolina's first constitution. Since 1776, there have been sixty-one speakers of the house. Four speakers have served non-consecutive terms, but unlike the office of governor where each office holder is counted once regardless of terms served, speakers are counted separately for each time in office. Therefore, for example, Solomon Blatt Sr. was the 50th and the 53rd speaker.

## Election

The speaker is elected by a simple majority vote to a four year term following the most recent general election and may not serve more than five consecutive terms. The next election will be in 2023. Incumbent Speaker Murrell Smith was elected intra-term in 2022 following the resignation of Jay Lucas. Since 1776, there have been 34 Democrats, 9 Democratic-Republicans, 8 Republicans, 8 Independents, and 2 Nullifiers. The speaker pro tempore presides in the speaker's absence.

## Roles and responsibilities

The speaker of the house "preserve[s] order and decorum" in the chamber and oversees the proceeding of the House of Representatives by recognizing members to speak, calling for votes, and maintaining general order. The speaker also serves an ex officio member of the Committee on Operations and Managementof the House of Representatives. Additionally, the speaker of the house has the ability to do the following:
* Call for a special election after an inter-term vacancy in the senate
* Appoint members all committees, but must ensure that both the majority and minority parties are represented
* Adjourn the house without a vote in cases of emergency
* If a quorum is not present, the speaker may order absent members to be taken into custody and brought into the house chamber.

### Succession to governorship

The speaker of the house is third in the gubernatorial line of succession. If the governor, lieutenant governor, and President of the South Carolina Senate are unable to serve as governor, the speaker of the house becomes governor. Since the role of lieutenant governor was separated from president of the senate, no president has succeeded to the office of governor.

## List of speakers

List of speakers of the South Carolina House of Representatives :
| # | Speaker | Party | Term of office | Notes |
| 1 | James Parsons | None | March 26, 1776 – October 1776 | |
| 2 | John Matthews | None | December 1776 – Spring of 1777 | |
| 3 | Thomas Bee | None | Summer of 1777 – November 1778 | |
| 4 | John Matthews | None | January 1779 – December 1779 | 2nd Time |
| 5 | Thomas Farr | None | 1779 – 1782 | |
| 6 | Hugh Rutledge | None | 1782 – 1785 | |
| 7 | John Faucheraud Grimké | None | 1785 – 1787 | |
| 8 | John Julius Pringle | Federalist | 1787 – 1789 | |
| 9 | Jacob Read | Federalist | 1789 – 1795 | |
| 10 | Robert Barnwell | Federalist | 1795 – 1798 | |
| 11 | William Johnson | Democratic-Republican | 1798 – 1800 | |
| 12 | Theodore Gaillard | Democratic-Republican | 1800 – 1802 | |
| 13 | Robert Stork | Democratic-Republican | 1802 – 1804 | |
| 14 | William Cotesworth Pinckney, | Democratic-Republican | 1804 – 1805 | |
| 15 | Joseph Alston | Democratic-Republican | 1805 – 1810 | |
| 16 | John Geddes | Democratic-Republican | 1810 – 1814 | |
| 17 | Thomas Bennett Jr. | Democratic-Republican | 1814 – 1818 |
| 19 | Patrick Noble | Democratic-Republican | 1818 – 1824 | |
| 20 | John Belton O'Neall | Democratic-Republican | 1824 – 1828 | |
| 21 | Benjamin Fanuel Dunkin | Nullifier (Democratic) | 1828 – 1830 | |
| 22 | Henry L. Pinckney | Nullifier (Democratic) | 1830 – 1833 | |
| 23 | Patrick Noble | Democratic | 1833 – 1836 | 2nd time Changed parties |
| 24 | David Lewis Wardlaw | Democratic | 1836 – 1842 | |
| 25 | William F. Colcock | Democratic | 1842 – 1848 | |
| 26 | John Izard Middleton | Democratic | 1848 – 1850 | |
| 27 | James Simons | Democratic | 1862 – 1864 | |
| 28 | R. B. Boyleston | Democratic | 1864 – 1865 | Deposed by Union Army |
| 29 | R. B. Boyleston | None | 1865 – 1868 | |
| 30 | Franklin J. Moses Jr. | Republican | 1868 – 1872 | |
| 31 | Samuel Jones Lee | Republican | 1872 – 1874 | |
| 32 | R. B. Elliot | Republican | 1874 – 1876 | |
| 33 | William Henry Wallace | Democratic | 1876 – 1876 | |
| 34 | John Calhoun Sheppard | Democratic | 1877 – 1882 | |
| 35 | James Simons, Jr. | Democratic | 1882 – 1890 | |
| 36 | John L. M. Irby | Democratic | 1890 – 1891 | |
| 37 | Ira B. Jones | Democratic | 1891 – 1896 | |
| 38 | Frank B. Gary | Democratic | 1896 – 1901 | |
| 39 | William Francis Stevenson | Democratic | 1901 – 1903 | |
| 40 | Mendel L. Smith | Democratic | 1903 – 1907 | |
| 41 | Richard S. Whaley | Democratic | 1907 – 1911 | |
| 42 | Mendel L. Smith | Democratic | 1911 – 1915 | 2nd Time |
| 43 | James Hoyt | Democratic | 1915 – 1918 | |
| 44 | Thomas P. Cothran | Democratic | 1918 – 1921 | |
| 45 | J. B. Atkinson | Democratic | 1921 – 1923 | |
| 46 | Thos. S. McMillan | Democratic | 1923 – 1925 | |
| 47 | Edgar Allan Brown | Democratic | 1925 – 1926 | |
| 48 | John K. Hamblin | Democratic | 1927 – 1933 | |
| 49 | James B. Gibson | Democratic | 1933 – 1934 | Died |
| 50 | Claude A. Taylor | Democratic | 1935 – 1936 | |
| 51 | Solomon Blatt Sr. | Democratic | 1935 – 1936 | |
| 52 | C. Bruce Littlejohn | Democratic | 1947 – 1949 | |
| 53 | Thomas H. Pope | Democratic | 1949 – 1950 | |
| 54 | Solomon Blatt Sr. | Democratic | 1951 – August 1, 1973 | 2nd Time |
| 55 | Rex L. Carter | Democratic | 1973 – August 1, 1980 | |
| 56 | Ramon Schwartz Jr. | Democratic | 1981 – October 1, 1986 | |
| 57 | Robert Sheheen | Democratic | 1987 – October 1, 1994 | |
| 58 | David Wilkins | Republican | December 6, 1994 – June 21, 2005 | |
| 59 | Bobby Harrell | Republican | June 21, 2005 – October 23, 2014 | |
| 60 | Jay Lucas | Republican | December 2, 2014 – May 12, 2022 | |
| 61 | Murrell Smith, Jr. | Republican | May 12, 2022 – Incumbent | |