Missouri's GOP takes the reins: when Missouri Republicans took control of the legislature, the adjustment wasn't easy on the Democrats.

• Author: Powers, Marc

The 2002 election gave Missouri Republicans the victory that had eluded them since 1954: control of the House of Representatives. Although they had come close in the late 1990s, they could never quite pull it off.

But redistricting and term limits created 84 open seats in the 163-member body, and that combination was a winning one for the GOP.

House Speaker Pro Tern Rod Jetton says that convergence of circumstances made the difference for Republicans. "You've got more favorable districts and more open seats," Jetton says. "Put those two together, and you've got a new majority."

House speaker Catherine Hanaway says Republicans were careful to avoid past mistakes such as failing to protect incumbents and provide a unified message. "Redistricting and term limits helped, but even more so was candidate recruitment, fund raising and a vision of what we would do if we took a majority," she says.

The November elections yielded a net gain of 14 seats for a total of 90--three more than Democrats had held in recent years. The change in chamber control is Missouri's second in two years, with the Senate shifting to the GOP in 2001, ending a 53-year run of Democratic dominance.

A SMOOTH TRANSITION

Many long-time veterans were still in office when the upper chamber changed majorities. The Senate transition proved rocky as many members found it difficult to adjust to new roles.

The House changeover went more smoothly, in part because of term limits. With 90 new members--a majority with eight seats to spare--most members didn't have to adjust to a new majority or minority status. They simply had to get used to being state lawmakers.

But for some, accepting the change was hard. "A lot of new members who ran thinking they were going to be part of the majority were really disappointed," says House Minority Floor Leader Mark Abel. "I even had a couple of freshmen say, 'I'm not sure I even want to be here now."'

Although shifting roles hasn't been the problem it was in the Senate, the lack of experience at times has been noticeable. Not a single member had served more than six years when the session started. For longtime Capitol observers, the lack of flow on the House floor was at times painful to watch. And there were occasional embarrassments. The most infamous incident occurred during a mock debate at freshmen orientation when a new Republican member, in all seriousness, sought to stop a wheelchair-bound Democrat from debating by invoking the chamber rule that requires members to stand when speaking. The speaker simply ignored that point of order.

It didn't take long, however, for the rookies to get the hang of floor debate. Missouri's continuing budget crisis was a major point of contention, and one where many observers felt the inexperience of House Republican leadership showed. House Budget Chairman Carl Bearden is in his second term. Vice Chair Brad Lager is a freshman. Most committee members are either sophomores or freshmen.

Speaker Hanaway says the inexperience was a boon in many ways. "I think it made it easier because these 90 people did not have pork projects they were trying to protect in the budget."

Because the GOP campaign platform took the position that Missouri has a spending problem and not a revenue problem, Republicans rejected Democrat Governor Bob Holden's call for new taxes to cover the $700 million difference between existing revenue and his recommended $19.3 billion budget.

After being blasted for proposing deep cuts in education, social services and health care...