Princella Smith
Princella Smith is an American Republican activist and politician from Wynne, Arkansas. She ran for Congress in Arkansas' 1st congressional district in 2010.[1]
In 2004 she gave a primetime speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention, having beaten a thousand other entrants in an MTV essay contest. She was only 20 at the time, and her status as a young African American female Republican drew national attention.[2] She had worked as an intern for Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Win Rockefeller, who inspired her to become a Republican activist.[1] She had early experience as a public speaker, having been elected Governor of Girls State while in high school.[1]
In 2006 she worked for the Senate campaign of then-Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele. She has also served as the communication director for Representative Joseph Cao (R-LA) and as an intern for former U.S. Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
Following her unsuccessful run for Congress she became director of education for the Arkansas Secretary of State, Mark Martin. She resigned that post in April 2011 after she was arrested and briefly jailed for driving with a suspended driver's license.[3] She now blogs for the Huffington Post and works as a motivational speaker and educational consultant in Washington, D.C.[4]
