House election: Who could replace Mike Johnson as GOP Vice Chair

Six candidates have entered the race to fill the vacancy left by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the vice chairperson for the Republican Caucus of the House of Representatives as of Friday.

The vice chair typically helps with the operations of the House GOP conference, which is in charge of party meetings and communicating the party’s message. The vice chair, which is not usually the step before House Speaker, also has a seat on the committee that decides committee assignments.

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Here are the two men and four women vying to fill the chair:

Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO)

Charlie Riedel/AP

The Missouri congressman is in his first term in the House and previously worked as a news anchor. His on-camera background is something he claimed he would bring to the role, and he offered to help coordinate media training and workshops for lawmakers in the conference. He also promised to work toward “recalibrating and rebuilding” the conference’s relationships with media outlets across the country.

“This role is instrumental in crafting and coordinating our Republican Conference’s message,” Alford wrote in a letter to colleagues. “As a career communicator, with more than 35 years of experience in broadcast media, and more live television exposure than anyone in history, I will bring a unique skillset to the role that would best help advocate for Republican success next fall.”

The congressman currently works on the Agriculture, Armed Services, and Small Business committees.

Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL)

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The Floridian attracted national attention recently when donning the uniform of an Israeli Defense Force soldier, which he served alongside as a volunteer after serving in the United States Army. Mast has served four terms in the House so far and sits on the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Foreign Affairs committees.

“We just spent the last 20 days fighting about how to be better, how to be a different conference, not having backroom deals,” Mast said in a video to his colleagues Thursday, according to the Hill.

“And to me, if I asked you to pledge your support before you hear everybody out — the good ideas, the bad ideas — that is the definition of backroom, and it’s not what’s best for our conference. Let’s be the best that we can be.”

Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK)

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Bice currently serves as the House’s sophomore class’s representative to the Elected Leadership Committee and serves on the House Appropriations Committee, in addition to the panels on Budget; House Administration; and Science, Space and Technology. Prior to her time in Congress, Bice worked in marketing for her family’s technology company.

“It is important that our message be concise and purposeful,” Bice wrote in a letter to her colleagues. “Through my years of marketing experience, I know what it takes to communicate a vision.”

Bice is the first Iranian-American to serve in the House.

Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX)

Patrick Semansky/AP

Van Duyne is only in her second congressional term, but she previously worked as the mayor of Irving, Texas, and as a regional administrator for the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Trump administration. She currently sits on the House Ways and Means Committee and is chair of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight.

“Many of you know I’m a strong voice for priorities that will make our country great,” Van Duyne wrote in her campaign announcement Wednesday. “But what you may not know is that I’ve been a fighter my whole life — I was a homeless teen who paid my own way through college (ultimately paying off student debt) before becoming a young mother who fought insurance companies and bureaucratic red tape to get my daughter the surgeries she needed.”

The Texan said she would work to empower the caucus by highlighting the representatives’ work in Congress, including the work they do on behalf of their constituents.

Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN)

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Fischbach sits on the House Ways and Means; Rules; Budget; and Ethics committees, and she is in her second term as a congresswoman. However, Fischbach has history in leadership, having served as the swing-state’s lieutenant governor and as the leader of the state senate previously.

“As President of the Minnesota Senate with a one-seat majority, I learned how to govern with no room for error,” Fischbach said in a letter announcing her candidacy. “We find ourselves in a similar situation in the 118th Congress.”

The congresswoman also promised to help keep the caucus’s message unified.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY)

Kathy Willens/AP

One of the most prominent politicians on the list is Malliotakis, who has become a leading voice in criticizing New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s handling of the border crisis. The conservative New Yorker currently serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

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The congresswoman laid out six priorities in her move to be the next vice chair, including promoting unity in the party and advancing legislative priorities. She also promised to “support [the] Speaker, Conference Chair and leadership team in serving our party and constituents.”

No official date has been set in electing the next vice chair, but the Hill reported that it could happen in two weeks.