Bob Smith (New Hampshire politician)

Bob Smith
United States Senator from New Hampshire
In office December 7, 1990 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Gordon J. Humphrey
Succeeded by	John E. Sununu
Chair of the Senate Environment Committee
In office January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001
Preceded by	Harry Reid
Succeeded by	Jim Jeffords
In office November 2, 1999 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by	John Chafee
Succeeded by	Harry Reid
Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee
In office January 7, 1997 – November 2, 1999
Preceded by	Mitch McConnell
Succeeded by	Pat Roberts
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 1st district
In office January 3, 1985 – December 7, 1990
Preceded by	Norman D'Amours
Succeeded by	Bill Zeliff
Personal details
Born	Robert Clinton Smith (1941-03-30) March 30, 1941 (age 83) Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
Political party	Republican (before 1999, 2000–present)
Other political affiliations	Constitution (1999) Independent (1999–2000)
Spouse	Mary Jo Hutchinson ​ (m. 1966)​
Children	3
Alma mater	Lafayette College (BA)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1965–1967 (Active) 1962–1965, 1967–1969 (Reserve)
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Bob Smith's voice Smith discusses interdepartmental conflicts within the Clinton administration on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Recorded October 13, 1999

Robert Clinton Smith (born March 30, 1941) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for New Hampshire's 1st congressional district from 1985 to 1990 and the state of New Hampshire in the United States Senate from 1990 to 2003.

First elected to the House of Representatives as a Republican in 1984, he was re-elected twice before running for the Senate in 1990, winning the open seat and assuming it early when incumbent Gordon J. Humphrey resigned. He was re-elected in 1996 and then entered the Republican primary for the 2000 presidential election. After failing to gain traction, he withdrew before the primaries began and joined the Taxpayers' Party, seeking their nomination instead. He then changed parties again, becoming an Independent before dropping out of the presidential race altogether. He then re-joined the Republican Party after the Chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works became open, which he then assumed.

Smith ran for re-election in 2002 but lost the Republican primary to Congressman John E. Sununu, who won the general election. After his defeat he moved to Florida and briefly ran for the Senate from there in 2004 and in 2010, but dropped out early on in both cases after faring poorly in polls of the Republican primary. He subsequently returned to New Hampshire, where he declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2014 Senate election, but was defeated in the Republican primary by former U.S. Senator from Massachusetts Scott Brown.