Pope versus Morgan - Chapter 3 - A Nuclear War

The 2002 election resulted in something that had never happened before. The election of 60 Democrats and 60 Republicans to the State House. A deadlock.

The Democrat Caucus nominated Jim Black as its candidate for Speaker. The Republicans split into two factions. The majority – fifty-five of the members – supported Leo Daughtry. But, then, Richard Morgan paid Leo back – in a big way – for that little coup Leo had staged two years before when he tried to purge Morgan. Morgan – and four other Republicans – announced there was no way, ever, they were going to vote for Leo Daughtry.

There were seven roll call votes to elect a Speaker and the result never changed.

Democrat Jim Black – sixty votes

Republican Richard Morgan – five votes

Republican Leo Daughtry – fifty-five votes (the votes were actually cast for Rep. George Holmes, Leo’s ally).

Not one Democrat wavered. Not one Republican in either faction wavered. The House was deadlocked.

The solution was to elect two Speakers – one Republican and one Democrat – to share power.

But the Daughtry-Republicans and the Morgan-Republicans could not agree on who. So each faction began to negotiate with the Democrats separately. And, ironically, in the end Jim Black chose the Republican Co-Speaker. And he chose to share power with Morgan. (Probably because he concluded it was in his best interest to ally with the weaker Republican faction.)

After the eighth vote, Richard Morgan found himself standing on the podium with Jim Black, as Co-Speakers of the House.

Robert Grady had sat on the House floor through seven roll-call votes and voted for Leo (or Leo’s ally, George Holmes) each time. On the final vote – to end the deadlock – he voted for Morgan and Black for Co-Speakers. Three years later, he found himself being attacked in his primary by his old friend, Art Pope, for betraying the Republican Party and giving Democrats control of the State House.

To be continued tomorrow…Chapter 4 – “Morgan’s Purge”

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