Mo. House Republicans nominate Steven Tilley for speaker in 2011

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- It's still 2009, but Missouri House members have already nominated their top leaders for the 2011 legislative session.

Because of term limits, Republican House Speaker Ron Richard and Democratic Minority Leader Paul LeVota cannot run for re-election in 2010. That means their leadership jobs will be vacant when the House convenes in January 2011.

Lawmakers said Wednesday they were picking their future leadership early to help organize their parties' 2010 election efforts.

Meeting in private sessions, Republicans nominated Majority Leader Steven Tilley of Perryville as their choice for speaker in 2011 while Democrats nominated Mike Talboy of Kansas City.

Republicans now control the House. If they retain their majority in next year's elections, Tilley would probably become speaker and Talboy would serve as the minority party leader.