R. Clayton Mitchell Jr., former Maryland House speaker, dies at 83

Former Maryland House Speaker R. Clayton Mitchell Jr., a Democrat from the Eastern Shore who served more than two decades in the General Assembly, died on Thursday night, according to the office of Gov. Larry Hogan.

Mitchell was 83.

First elected to state office in 1971, he served as the 104th Speaker of the House of Delegates from 1987 to 1992.