Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) became the second House Republican to secure the nomination to be the next House speaker this week, but he faces an uphill battle to win the gavel.
After Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) withdrew from the race following hours of meetings, the conference selected Jordan as its new nominee one day later. The House voted in a secret ballot 124-81 on Friday to make Jordan the speaker-designee, followed by another vote to gauge how Jordan would fare on the House floor. The second vote yielded a smaller margin of Jordan opponents, at 152-55.
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The re-vote indicated many Republicans are still reluctant to line up behind the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Jordan’s supporters say he plans to close the margin and sway more support his way this weekend, as the Ohioan has a long way to go to get the 217 votes needed to win the job.
“I think he has a very, very difficult task ahead of him,” said Rep. Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL), who voted against Jordan and has indicated he will likely not support him on the floor. “That’s a really big mountain.”
Some Republicans think Jordan plans to use a floor vote to put pressure on the 55 hold-outs who refused to back him.
Given the slim majority Republicans hold and the fact Democrats have promised they aren’t going to help elect a new speaker, Jordan can only afford to let five members defect. But when push comes to shove, Jordan could use the public pressure of a floor vote to pin stray members down and get them into his corner.
“What is going to happen is, they are going to vote on the floor, and then they hear from the grassroots,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) said.
While Jordan does not need all 217 confirmed votes to enter the House floor as the Republican nominee, Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) said Jordan wants a majority of support prior to the full vote.
“Jordan has stated he wants to make sure that he has the votes going into the House chamber,” Cammack said. “So that being said, he wants the weekend to work that and to get those votes up.”
The Florida representative said Jordan will need to “work the phones and talk to people” to gather support from any holdouts.
Other Republicans say it’s a different playing field once the nominee enters the floor for the full House vote, and the conference will likely fall in line as pressure mounts to elect Jordan.
“It’s different when you get on the House floor,” said Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC). “It’s time to elect Jim Jordan speaker.”
Norman, an original supporter of Jordan dating back to his battle against Scalise, said, “Their phones are gonna be lit up with their constituents,” urging Jordan’s speakership.
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Cammack, holding a similar outlook as Norman, said constituents from across the nation will be getting involved in the speaker race by calling to show their support for the Ohio congressman this weekend.
“I think certainly we are going to have a situation where people from around the country are getting involved,” Cammack said. “You’re going to have people calling their members of Congress, encouraging them to support Jim Jordan because, at the end of the day, Jim Jordan is the grassroots candidate. He is someone who really resonates with the base of the Republican Party.”
