G. Murrell Smith Jr.
2000 - Present
2026
25
G. Murrell Smith Jr. (Republican Party) is a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 67. He assumed office in 2000. His current term ends on November 9, 2026.
Smith was born in 1968 in Florence, South Carolina. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wofford College in 1990 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1993. Smith worked as a public defender and for several private law firms. He was also the owner of Reliable Medical Equipment.[1]
Smith was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2000 to represent District 68. He was elected to represent District 67 in 2002.[2][3] He chaired the Subcommittee on Criminal Laws from 2005-2008, the Health and Human Services Subcommittee from 2012-2018, and the Ways and Means Committee from 2018-2022. Smith became chair of the House Ethics Committee in 2018.[1]
Smith was elected speaker of the House on April 28, 2022, and he began his term on May 12, 2022.[4] He was elected speaker again in 2024 after facing a challenge from Rep. Bill Chumley (R), who the House Freedom Caucus supported. Jeffrey Collins of the Associated Press said the challenge "could be a preview of fighting among Republicans over which group truly deserves to identify as conservative." Smith said, "It is our duty to show the people of South Carolina that their government works for them — that we can disagree without being disagreeable."[5]
Smith said reducing tax rates and funding economic development projects were some of his top priorities as speaker of the House.[5] Smith sponsored bills to prohibit all abortions and limit the use of abortion-causing drugs.[6] After the South Carolina Supreme Court nullified a prohibition on abortions after six weeks in 2023, Smith said the court had created "a constitutional right to an abortion where none exists."[7] Smith has also sponsored legislation to expand the use of solar power, prohibit the enforcement of federal firearms restrictions, and allow the state funding of private or religious educational institutions.[6]
Biography
Smith earned his B.A. from Wofford College in 1990. He went on to receive his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1993. Smith worked for Young, Young & Reiter from 1993 to 1998. He was also a part-time Assistant Public Defender from 1995 to 1998. He has worked as Partner of Lee, Erter, Wilson, James, Holler & Smith, Limited Liability Company since 1998. He owns the Wild Wing Café and Reliable Med. Equipment.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2021-2022
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
- House Ethics Committee, Chairman
- Ways and Means Committee, Chairman
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Ethics |
| • Ways and Means |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Ethics |
| • Ways and Means |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Ways and Means |
| • Ethics |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Ways and Means |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Ways and Means |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67
Incumbent G. Murrell Smith Jr. won election in the general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | G. Murrell Smith Jr. (R) | 98.4 | 13,683 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.6 | 221 | ||
| Total votes: 13,904 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent G. Murrell Smith Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Smith received the following endorsements.
- Frmr. President Donald Trump (R)
2022
See also: South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67
Incumbent G. Murrell Smith Jr. won election in the general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | G. Murrell Smith Jr. (R) | 98.4 | 9,705 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.6 | 155 | ||
| Total votes: 9,860 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent G. Murrell Smith Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67.
2020
See also: South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67
Incumbent G. Murrell Smith Jr. won election in the general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | G. Murrell Smith Jr. (R) | 97.3 | 13,834 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.7 | 390 | ||
| Total votes: 14,224 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent G. Murrell Smith Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67.
2018
General election
General election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67
Incumbent G. Murrell Smith Jr. defeated Brandon Humphries in the general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | G. Murrell Smith Jr. (R) | 82.2 | 8,640 |
 | Brandon Humphries (L) | 17.2 | 1,811 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 64 | ||
| Total votes: 10,515 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67
Incumbent G. Murrell Smith Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | G. Murrell Smith Jr. |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2016
Elections for the South Carolina House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 14, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The primary runoff election was held on June 28, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 30, 2016.
Incumbent George Smith Jr. ran unopposed in the South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 general election.[8][9]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 67 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  George Smith, Jr. Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 11,808 | |
| Total Votes | 11,808 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Incumbent George Smith Jr. ran unopposed in the South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 Republican primary.[10][11]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 67 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | George Smith, Jr. Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for all 124 seats in the South Carolina House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 30, 2014. Incumbent George Smith Jr. ran unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[12][13][14]
2012
Smith ran unopposed in the Republican primary on June 12, as well as the general election on November 6.[15][16]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George Smith, Jr. Incumbent |
99.1% | 11,696 | |
| Other | Write-Ins | 0.9% | 106 | |
| Total Votes | 11,802 | |||
2010
Smith ran unopposed in the June 8 Republican primary for District 67 of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Smith won, after running unopposed, in the general election on November 2.[17]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 67 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| George Smith, Jr. (R)
|
8,141 | 99.33% | ||
| Write-In | 55 | 0.67% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Smith won re-election, after running unopposed, to the South Carolina House of Representatives with 11,134 votes, representing District 67.
Smith raised $25,237 for his campaign.[18]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 67 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| George Smith, Jr. (R)
|
11,134 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
G. Murrell Smith Jr. did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
G. Murrell Smith Jr. did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
G. Murrell Smith Jr. did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of South Carolina scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 9 to May 9.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 10 to May 11.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 to May 12.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 12 to May 13.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 14 to June 25. The state Senate reconvened September to September 3. Both chambers reconvened September 15 to September 24.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 8 through May 21.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 9 through May 10.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 10 through May 11.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 12 through June 2.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 13 through June 4.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 14 through June 6.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 8 to June 20.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 7.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 2. On June 2, 2011, Governor Nikki Haley (R) attempted to call the legislature into an "emergency" special session to begin on June 7 to create the new South Carolina Department of Administration. A lawsuit was filed by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell (R), in which he contended that Haley's call for a special session was unconstitutional, and that it violated the state Constitution's requirement of separation of powers among the governor, legislature and courts.[19] On June 6, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled 3-2 against Governor Haley, stating that her order violated the Legislature's ability to set its calendar and agenda. The legislature met in a special redistricting session from June 14 - July 1.[20] The legislature re-convened July 26.[21]
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The Palmetto Liberty PAC Scorecard
The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, a conservative, pro-limited government think tank in South Carolina, releases its scorecard for South Carolina representatives and senators once a year. The scorecard gives each legislator a score based on how he or she voted in the two-year legislative term prior to the election on specific issues that the Palametto Liberty PAC thinks are anti-limited government. "Most of the votes shown on the score card are votes that we lost. Now we can identify the Legislators that caused us to lose these votes. These Legislators are the ones who need to be replaced if we are to achieve the vision of having the most free state in the nation."[22]
2012
George Smith, Jr. received a score of 27% in the 2012 scorecard, ranking 43rd out of all 124 South Carolina House of Representatives members.[23] His score was followed by representatives J. Roland Smith (27%), Mike Sottile (27%), and Eddie Tallon (27%).[24]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Smith and his wife, Macaulay, have two children.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 |
Officeholder South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 South Carolina State Legislature, "Representative G. Murrell Smith, Jr.," accessed May 13, 2025
- ↑ Vote Smart, "Murrell Smith, Jr.'s Biography," accessed May 13, 2025
- ↑ South Carolina Elections Commission, "Election Results," accessed May 18, 2025
- ↑ Speaker of the S.C. House Murrell Smith, "Meet Murrell Smith," accessed October 24, 2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Associated Press, "Freedom Caucus unsuccessfully challenges Speaker in South Carolina House race," December 3, 2024
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Vote Smart, "Murrell Smith, Jr.'s Voting Records," accessed May 12, 2025
- ↑ PBS, "South Carolina Supreme Court strikes down state abortion ban," January 5, 2023
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Candidate listing for the 11/8/2016 statewide general election," accessed August 26, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2016 Statewide General Election," accessed November 28, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Official general election results," accessed November 13, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2014 Election Information," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ AP.org, "South Carolina State Senate and State House Election Results," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2012 Candidates," accessed April 23, 2012
- ↑ www.enr-scvotes.org, "2010 General Election Results," accessed May 1, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 campaign contributions," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ The State, "High court rules against Haley," June 6, 2011
- ↑ The Sun News, "S.C. House to have special session in June," May 6, 2011
- ↑ The Island Packet, "S.C. Senate OKs new congressional districted anchored in Beaufort County," June 29, 2011
- ↑ The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "Voting Records," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed May 15, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
South Carolina House of Representatives District 67 2000-Present |
Succeeded by - |
