G. Murrell Smith Jr. 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. Evans was elected speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives on April 28, 2022, and reelected to the position in 2024. 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. 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. 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. Smith was elected speaker of the House on April 28, 2022, and he began his term on May 12, 2022. He was elected speaker again in 2024 after facing a challenge from Rep. Bill Chumley, 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."
