Republicans Choose Emmer, a Moderate, as their Third Speaker Nominee

House Republicans voted 117-97 to select Congressman Tom Emmer of Minnesota as their newest candidate for House Speaker, becoming the party's third speaker designate in a little more than two weeks since the ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He outpolled Congressman Mike Johnson of Louisiana, who was the only other candidate remaining after four rounds of voting.

Both Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio failed to secure the 217 votes needed to attain the gavel. Scalise originally bested Jordan for the nomination, but bowed out after hard right conservatives refused to pledge their support. Jordan lost on the House floor three times due to opposition from GOP moderates.

The fates of the previous two men represent the extreme level of infighting that plagues House Republicans and the steep challenge Emmer faces in securing enough of his party's support to win the post, even after besting eight other candidates that each boast their own unique bases of support.

"The American people elected us to deliver on a conservative agenda that secures our border, stops reckless spending, and holds Joe Biden accountable," Emmer tweeted on Saturday. "I'm running for Speaker of the House to bring our conference together and get back to work."

Representatives Jack Bergman of Michigan, Byron Donalds of Florida, Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, Gary Palmer of Alabama, Austin Scott of Georgia, Pete Sessions of Texas all ran for the speakership.

Emmer, as majority whip, boasts the most leadership experience. Assuming office in 2015, Emmer rose through leadership ranks to chair the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP's chief campaign arm, in 2019, helping his party secure the majority.

The Minnesota Republican stood out from his eight opponents as being the only one of the nine candidates to have voted in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act that requires all states to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages. He was also one of only two of the nine candidates for the speaker position, along with Scott, to vote in favor of certifying the 2020 election.

This positioned him as the more centrist candidate when juxtaposed against the other top leading vote getters, Johnson, Hern, and Donalds, the latter of whom stood out as the only member of the influential hard right Freedom Caucus to seek the gavel.

While all nine candidates signed a pledge brought forth by Nebraska Congressman Mike Flood declaring that they would support whomever won the nomination, some members have already spoken out against Emmer, saying they would never support him due to his past votes.

However, if Emmer takes his candidacy to the floor and fails to get 217 Republican votes, some Democrats have suggested that they would be willing to offer him the support that they declined to show Jordan and McCarthy, sitting out the speaker vote to lower the threshold Emmer would need to win.

"The dysfunction in the House is a national and global security issue," Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota wrote on Twitter. "I would sit-out the Speaker vote if Tom Emmer will fund our government at negotiated levels, bring Ukraine and Israel aid bills to the floor, and commit to rules changes to make Congress work for the people."