GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made significant headway in his bid to become Speaker on Friday, though he ultimately fell short of the 218 vote threshold.
Before Friday, 20 far right members of the Republican conference opposed McCarthy. 13 flipped their votes to McCarthy on the 12th ballot. They are:
- Rep. Dan Bishop (N.C.)
- Rep.-elect Josh Brecheen (Okla.)
- Rep. Michael Cloud (Texas)
- Rep. Andrew Clyde (Ga.)
- Rep. Byron Donalds (Fla.)
- Paul Gosar (Ariz.)
- Rep.-elect Anna Paulina Luna (Fla.)
- Rep. Mary Miller (Ill)
- Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.)
- Rep.-elect Andy Ogles (Tenn.)
- Rep. Scott Perry (Pa.)
- Rep. Chip Roy (Texas)
- Rep.-elect Keith Self (Texas)
Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz, who’d been voting present, voted for McCarthy as well.
In total, McCarthy picked up 14 votes on Friday which resulted in him finishing ahead of Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y) for the first time since Tuesday.
Seven Republican lawmakers still opposes McCarthy’s bid for Speaker. They are: Reps Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Bob Good (Va.), Andy Harris (Md.), and Matt Rosendale (Mont.).
Of the 7 McCarthy holdouts, 4 voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and 3 voted for Rep. Kevin Hern (Okla.)
[Featured Image: Reuters]
