GOP eyes Bootheel seat as Democratic doctor takes aim

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Although a Republican hasn't served in the Missouri House of Representatives from a Pemiscot County-based district for 70 years, House Speaker Catherine Hanaway says the GOP has a shot at claiming the seat in an upcoming special election to replace Democrat Denny Merideth.

Until the early 1990s, the Bootheel was a Democratic bastion, but in recent years the area has steadily shifted Republican. Merideth, who resigned Tuesday to take a job as a foreign service officer with the U.S. State Department, was the region's last remaining Democrat.

The GOP's most recent Bootheel pickup came last fall when state Rep. Otto Bean of Holcomb bucked history by winning in a neighboring district that had never before elected a Republican.

Hanaway said a potential Republican contender in Merideth's district would be modeled on Bean, a farmer and businessman.

"He was an extraordinary candidate who fit the district well and was a strong, long-time community leader," Hanaway said. "If we were to field a candidate in Denny Merideth's district, it would have to be someone like that."

Under Hanaway's leadership last fall, Republicans picked up 14 seats for a 90-73 House majority, the party's first since 1954. If the GOP recruits a strong candidate, Hanaway said she will likely take an active role in the upcoming campaign.

Dr. Terry Swinger of Caruthersville, the first announced Democratic hopeful, says that if he secures his party's nomination he is prepared for an all-out campaign against any Republican challenger for the seat, which also represents parts of Dunklin and New Madrid counties.

"A lot of people in these counties are Democrats who really want to keep this seat and will work hard to get out the Democratic vote," Swinger said.

Gov. Bob Holden, a Democrat, hasn't yet called for a special election, which would be held no sooner than 10 weeks after the call is made. Candidates would be selected by the district's local political party committees.

The last Republican elected from Pemiscot County was Henry T. Simpson, who served from 1927 to 1933. The seat turned Democratic following the 1932 elections, a disastrous year for Republicans in which they lost 54 seats to give Democrats a 140-10 House majority.

In the last 50 years, Republicans have fielded a candidate in the district only five times, most recently in 1980. Each GOP hopeful was overwhelmingly defeated.

However, the political landscape has changed, not just in the Bootheel but throughout Southeast Missouri.

Merideth's departure leaves, at least for now, only three of Southeast Missouri's 14 House seats in Democratic hands. The remaining Democratic districts are along the northern and western edges of the region.

Swinger, 62, is a Bootheel native and has practiced optometry in Caruthersville since 1965. He also operates offices in Kennett and Portageville.

His late wife, Sue, who died in March, sought the seat twice, losing in the 1986 and 1988 Democratic primaries.

If nominated, Swinger says his campaign would focus on improving education, promoting job growth and preserving political diversity in the region.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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