Less than two hours after House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., abandoned his bid for House speaker late Tuesday, six other candidates will face their colleagues behind closed doors in a desperate attempt to find a winning contender to succeed dethroned Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Reps. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Mike Johnson, R-La., Mark Green, R-Tenn., Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., and Jack Bergman, R-Mich., will make presentations in a candidate forum at 6:00 PM Tuesday. A vote of the conference is expected early Wednesday morning.
In contrast to Emmer, all six are considered strong conservatives with few enemies.
By 9:15 p.m. ET, a first ballot yieleded results showing no clincher but a frontrunner in Johnson:
- Johnson - 85
- Donalds - 32
- Green - 23
- Williams - 21
- Fleischmann – 10
- Other – 31
- Present – 2
As chair of the House Republican Study Committee and a self-made millionaire, Hern has a strong following among MAGA Republicans.
Donalds, one of four House Republicans who happen to be Black, reportedly, has the backing of the full Florida House delegation.
Johnson came in second in the vote Tuesday morning won by Emmer — who subsequently exited the race after failing to secure the "magic 217" or a majority on the full House required to win the speaker's gavel.
Tennessee Reps. Green and Fleischmann are also well-liked conservatives, and retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Bergman, 76, has promised to fill out the remaining 14 months in the current term and retire.
A vote by the conference on a speaker-designee is expected Wednesday.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.