House Republicans gained some temporary relief after swearing in the conference’s 220th member on Monday, giving Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) additional breathing room with the GOP’s winning streak with special elections.
Rep. Greg Lopez (R-CO), who won the special election to replace former Republican Rep. Ken Buck, was sworn into office on the first day of votes following the House’s July 4 recess. His entry into the Republican conference gives Johnson a three-seat majority to pass legislation along party lines.
“I am filled with a sense of gratitude, gratitude for being given an opportunity by my Lord and Savior, and good people of Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, to join you, my brothers and sisters, in 118th Congress,” Lopez said in a speech following being sworn in.
“Together, let us restore hope back to the American dream for the younger generation, and together, let us put people over politics,” he added.
Lopez will serve out the remainder of Buck’s term for six months after winning the special election on June 25. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) won the regular primary to serve a full term in the 4th District, and Lopez has said he will not seek to challenge her.
“I’m not coming up here, you know, saying ‘I want to change the world,’” Lopez said in his first national interview with the Washington Examiner in April. “I’m coming up here — I feel like I’ve been called to duty. I’m a veteran. And so I’ve been called to duty, and I’m going to honor that duty to the best of my ability, and then I get to go home.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Republican conference has grown over the last month, with leadership swearing in Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA), who replaced former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, and Rep. Michael Rulli (R-OH), who filled the seat held by former Rep. Bill Johnson. Those races were not expected to flip parties, so it provided Republicans with only a slight boost. However, pushback from hard-line conservatives over the last few months means any growth in numbers can benefit Johnson.
Lopez’s ascension into the House leaves Republicans with only one more seat left to fill, that of which used to be former Republican Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher’s. Because Gallagher retired after the state’s deadline for special elections, the races to fill his seat are set for Aug. 13 and a special general election for Nov. 5 — the same as the state’s regular contests.
