Speaker vote: House GOP meets for third internal election after three weeks without leader

Republicans will meet behind closed doors on Tuesday morning to hold their third internal election for speaker in as many weeks as the House stares down a Nov. 17 deadline to fund the government.

GOP lawmakers will meet at 9 a.m. to vote via secret ballot for their preferred candidates. If none of the eight candidates wins over a majority of the conference, the lawmaker with the fewest votes is eliminated, and the process repeats until a majority is secured.

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Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), the majority whip and ex-chairman of House Republicans’ campaign arm, is the front-runner in the race, while two others — Reps. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Kevin Hern (R-OK) — have attracted the support of their home-state colleagues. Reps. Austin Scott (R-GA), Mike Johnson (R-LA), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Jack Bergman (R-MI), and Gary Palmer (R-AL) are also pursuing bids.

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The free-for-all, which comes after failed candidacies by Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), means it may take several rounds for the conference to select a new speaker designate, but several lawmakers predicted that nominee could be elected by the full House by Tuesday night, an aggressive timetable that would leave little time to corral votes.

From there, the nominee will need 217 votes, or a majority of the entire chamber, to become speaker on the House floor. The timeline for that vote is unclear as some candidates want to ensure the eventual nominee can win outright on the floor — something Jordan failed to do before being dropped as the party’s candidate last week.