Murrell Smith Jr.

George Murrell Smith Jr. is an American politician and the 61st Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Since 2000, 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.”

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

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

Smith ran unopposed in the Republican primary in 2012.

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

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

Smith ran uncontested in the Republican primary in 2018.

The Republican primary was cancelled in 2020.

The Republican primary was cancelled in 2022.

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.