Speaker of The House
In 1987, the Republicans in the State House elected B. Bradford Barnes of Bridgeville Speaker. However, Barnes died in office shortly thereafter. Spence, who had entered the State House in the same year as Barnes, was then selected to succeed Barnes as Speaker. He has served in that capacity ever since, and is the longest serving Speaker of the House in the history of the Delaware General Assembly. He has also held the position of Speaker longer than any current Speaker of any state legislature in the United States.
In 2006, Spence and Majority Leader Wayne Smith were opposed for their leadership positions in the Republican Caucus by Joseph W. Booth and Richard C. Cathcart, respectively. However, Republicans in the Delaware State House retained their majority and lost only two seats in the 2006 elections that saw multiple Republican losses throughout the country. House Republicans elected to stay with the leadership that had led them through the tumultuous election. After being re-elected Speaker, Spence, rather than punishing Booth and Cathcart, appointed both to the powerful Appropriations and Joint Finance committees.
Read more about this topic: Terry R. Spence
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