Robert Grady ran for the State House in 1984; he was one of only two Republicans elected that year from east of Raleigh. Four years later, Art Pope ran and was elected to the House from Raleigh. Two years after that, in 1990, Richard Morgan was elected from Moore County (Pinehurst and Southern Pines).

Back then, in the early 90’s, Republicans had little real power in the State House. But that was about to change.

Just before the 1994 election – according to the story told in Republican circles – Representative Leo Daughtry decided he wanted to run for Republican Leader in the House. He went to Representative Harold Brubaker and asked for his support. Brubaker said, fine, but – with either great prescience or blind luck – he added one condition. If Republicans won a majority in the House that fall, Leo had to support him for Speaker .

Now, being Speaker is a lot more powerful than being the Republican Leader – but there hadn’t been a Republican Speaker in a hundred years. So that must have sounded like a good deal to Leo. He agreed.

Then lightening struck and Republicans swept the 1994 elections.

Daughtry kept his pledge to Brubaker. When the smoke cleared Brubaker was Speaker, Daughtry was the Republican Leader under him – which wasn’t quite what Leo’d had in mind – and Republicans controlled the House.

Then, Brubaker chose Richard Morgan to be Chairman of the most powerful committee in the House, the Rules Committee. That meant, practically, next to Brubaker, Morgan was the most powerful Republican in the House.

It’s hard to describe what the Rules Committee does. But a simple way to put it is just about anything he wants. He can kill any bill. Richard can be charming but he can also be a little like a grizzly bear. After he became Chairman of the Rules Committee well, to put it kindly, power effects some people the wrong way. He and Harold Brubaker led the Republicans in the House until 1998, when the Democrats retook control.

The next year, the Republican Caucus elected Leo Daughtry Republican (Minority) Leader. But, six months later, Leo stepped down to run for Governor. And Richard Morgan took his place.

After Leo’s campaign – he lost in the primary – he returned to the House for the 2000 legislative session. That’s when what had been an ongoing family squabble turned mean.

In the middle of the session, Leo Daughtry, Art Pope and several other legislators decided it was time to remove Richard Morgan from office.

The Republican Caucus met, Morgan’s opponents staged a coup d’etat and political blood flowed. Morgan managed to hang onto power by his fingertips until the following year – in 2001. Then Republicans again elected Daughtry Minority Leader.

Then in 2002 the stars aligned and turned what had been, up until then, an old-fashioned family feud into a nuclear war.

After the election there were sixty Democrats and sixty Republicans in the House. A tie.

The Republicans nominated Leo Daughtry for Speaker and Richard Morgan announced there was no way, no how, anytime, he was going to support him.

To be continued tomorrow…Chapter 3 – A Nuclear War.

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