At least 10 Republican lawmakers have declared or expressed an interest in declaring their candidacy for Speaker of the House of Representatives after Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) lost the party’s nomination on Friday. The secret ballot that stripped Jordan’s nomination came after three unsuccessful rounds of voting led to increasing opposition, leaving the door open for a number of other Republicans to come forward.
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After securing the Republican nomination earlier this month, Rep. Jordan initiated the voting process last week. The first round on Tuesday saw 200 votes in Jordan’s favor, falling short of the required 217 thanks to 20 Republican holdouts. The second round on Wednesday was equally unsuccessful, this time producing only 199 votes for Jordan.
After giving brief consideration to expanding the powers of Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC), the party decided to hold a third vote on Friday. The final round saw a total of 25 Republicans turn on Jordan, leaving him with only 194 votes.
Following the third failure, Republican leadership pulled Jordan’s nomination and began weighing other options. With a closed-door internal voting session scheduled for Tuesday, new candidates have emerged to take Jordan’s place.
Reps. Kevin Hern (R-OK), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Jack Bergman (R-MI), and Pete Sessions (R-TX) have all announced their candidacy. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) and House Republican Vice Conference Chair Mike Johnson (R-LA) are also indicating that they will run, according to party sources. Emmer has reportedly been courting the endorsement of former President Donald Trump since last week.
Other Republicans who are reportedly interested include House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX), House Small Business Chair Roger Williams (R-TX), Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA), and Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA).
Meanwhile, unified Democrat support remains strong behind Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the House Minority Leader. Jeffries has pulled in support from all 212 Democrats in every round of voting, kept from the Speakership only by the narrow Republican majority.
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