Republicans meet Tuesday morning to choose new House speaker nominee

Republicans are set to vote on a new speaker of the House nominee Tuesday morning, Oct. 24. They hope to move to the floor for an official vote soon after the candidate is chosen, perhaps as early as Tuesday evening Oct. 24. 

The process will be similar to ranked-choice voting. All eight candidates will be on the ballot; the person who receives the fewest votes will be knocked off, and they’ll keep going until someone gets a majority. 

During a forum Monday night, the eight candidates made their case and answered questions about how they would handle issues like government funding, border security, aid packages to Israel and Ukraine, and more. 

Here are the candidates: 

Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.

“The American people elected us to deliver on a conservative agenda that secures our border, stops reckless spending, and holds Joe Biden accountable. We cannot afford to fail them. I’m running for Speaker of the House to bring our conference together and get back to work.”

Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.

“I believe the survival and future of our republic may well be decided over the next 12 months. I believe that each one of us was specifically born for this moment and called and equipped by our Creator for the battle ahead.” 

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. 

“My pitch is very simple – this is going to be a process where it’s member-driven, not speaker-driven.” 

Rep. Austin Scott R-Ga. 

“I told my colleagues, if you’ll accept the one who’s honest, who’s got courage and a strong work ethic, I would love to be your speaker.” 

Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich. 

“What we need right now is a Speaker who has experience leading and can put ego aside to work together for the American people. We need a leader who shuns permanent power and recognizes the current crisis of leadership. I’m ready to serve.”

Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala. 

“The American people are desperate for authentic leadership. Leadership that is steady and conservative. This is why I decided to step forward in the race for Speaker of the House.”

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas 

“I am running for Speaker of the House because I know what it will take to move the Republican Party forward. I was Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee when we won 63 seats in the House & had our largest victory since the Republican Revolution of 1994.”

Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla. 

“I didn’t come here to BE someone. I came here to DO something. I’m running for Speaker of the House so that we can get our country back on the right track.”

There’s a rule in the Republican conference that everyone is supposed to support whichever candidate becomes the nominee with a majority vote. But as the country has seen, not all members have followed that rule, and some are indicating that might happen again. 

“I need to talk to the nominee before they get my vote,” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told reporters. 

“If we’re going to continue to have five or eight or 10 folks who are just going to, you know, watch the House burn for another week, then that’s on them,” Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said of the possibility of a drawn-out process. 

Members are feeling pressure from the public to get this done. According to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll, 67% of voters, including a majority of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, say the house needs to elect a speaker as soon as possible. 

Tuesday, Oct. 24, marks three full weeks without a speaker. 

“I just got back from my district in Sarasota, Florida, and people are very worked up down there about that, and they think all of us are incapable,” Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., said.  

“It just shows that we’re not functioning as a majority,” Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said of the past three weeks.