Missouri Republicans want Haahr to be next House speaker

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri House Republicans have chosen a lawmaker they want to succeed Speaker Todd Richardson.

Springfield Republican Rep. Elijah Haahr on Tuesday said his colleagues picked him to lead the chamber next. Richardson is barred by term limits from seeking re-election to the House in 2018.

The House Republicans’ pick is not official. The full House must vote to elect the next speaker in 2019.

But the party that leads the chamber typically will pick a nominee for speaker long in advance to train him or her.

Haahr is House speaker pro tem. Voters first elected him to the House in 2012, and he’ll be ineligible for re-election to the House in 2020.

Haahr is a lawyer at the Springfield branch of Lathrop Gage.