Missouri's House has rejected a Republican effort to capture a House leadership post by offering a Black Republican as the candidate. Phill Brooks has the story from Jefferson City:
Not one black Democrat in the House supported the Republican effort...although a couple did abstain from voting on the Speaker pro tem.
One who abstained was the out-going Speaker pro tem Fletcher Daniels. He was the first black to hold a top House leadership slot in the state's history.
But in a speech after the House election, Daniels absolved his own party for any blaim in his loss:
To replace Daniels, the Democrats nominated and the House on it's opening day elected a white farmer from rural southern Missouri.
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