Emerson staffer Lloyd Smith mentioned as candidate for state GOP leadership

With Gov. Matt Blunt giving way to Democrat Jay Nixon for the state's top job, the GOP is expecting to replace its party leadership as well in the coming months.

With a significant portion of the party's elected leadership coming from Southeast Missouri, Lloyd Smith, the longtime chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson and her late husband, Bill Emerson, is being named by various party officials and political bloggers as a top candidate to become chairman of the Republican State Committee.

Current chairman Doug Russell of Lebanon has indicated to party insiders he won't seek another term in that unpaid position. And party executive director Jared Craighead confirmed Friday he will step down.

Selection of replacements will take place in February during the annual statewide Lincoln Days celebration.

Smith, 57, has been working in the Emerson congressional office since 1981. He's also been called one of the brains behind the electoral machine that has not only maintained each Emerson in Congress but transformed the 8th Congressional District from a Democratic bastion to one of the most Republican areas.

Smith said last week it was premature to be talking about whether he is a candidate for an expanded role in the Republican hierarchy. But he did not shut the door on the idea.

For one thing, Smith said, the members of the state committee, who will elect the party chairman, were to be selected Saturday in local party meetings in state Senate districts across Missouri. No campaign can start until those selections are made, he said.

"We will see in the next two or three and four weeks a lot of things going on, but no one wants to get the cart in front of the horse," Smith said.

'The bright, shining star'

In the Nov. 4 election, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, seeking re-election, and U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential effort were the only Republican campaigns to win statewide.

"We were the bright, shining star across the country," Craighead said. "That is a little bit self-serving for me to say, but lots of people have noted that we were the only targeted state that went for Sen. McCain."

The Republican Party also picked up seats in the state Senate and maintained a majority in the Missouri House. The GOP retained the 9th Congressional District seat in an open race, and in the 6th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Sam Graves won an unexpectedly easy re-election in a targeted race.

Various party officials and bloggers say Kinder is pushing Smith for the party's top job. Kinder declined to comment, deferring to the selection of state committee members before making a public commitment.

"It is safe to say Lloyd and I are dear friends," Kinder said.

U.S. Sen. Kit Bond and Kinder are the only Republicans in statewide office. In the Missouri Legislature, the House majority leader is Steven Tilley of Perryville. In the Senate, the majority leader in 2009 will be Sen. Kevin Engler of Farmington, which is also in the 8th District.

Smith has experience in more than just maintaining dominance by the Emersons in the 8th District. He directed Jim Talent's two U.S. Senate campaigns -- a winning effort in 2002 and a losing effort in 2004 -- and he was state director for the Bush/Cheney re-election campaign in 2004.

One question is whether Smith could continue in his role as a congressional staffer if he took the unpaid job of party chairman. "I don't know. I have not crossed that bridge. I don't know if that is possible," he said.

Smith said he likes his current role.

Working on the congressional staff means leaving partisan politics at the door, he said. Emerson would not win re-election with 70 percent of the vote if she wasn't meeting the expectations of Democrats in the district, he said. "We try to reach across party lines. We do it every day."

The selection of Smith would cement Southeast Missouri's position providing leadership for the party, Tilley said Friday.

"I know I have a tremendous amount of respect for Lloyd," Tilley said. "I would be more than happy to have him as party chairman. What a great thing for Southeast Missouri."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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