Emmer wins first GOP speakership ballot, but falls short of majority

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) secured the most votes on a secret ballot in his fight for the speakership, though he’s still short of the necessary votes for a nomination on the floor.

The House GOP will now begin a second vote, with its sprawling candidate field down to six men. Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, a former House Rules chair, received the lowest number of votes and will be eliminated from the next round.

House Republicans will keep voting throughout the day Tuesday until one candidate has a majority of the 221-member conference. If candidates continue to only win by pluralities, the contender with the lowest numbers will be eliminated after each vote. Of course, candidates may also drop out voluntarily if it becomes clear they don’t have the necessary support.

Emmer (R-Minn.), the highest-ranking House Republican currently in the speaker race, received the lion’s share of the votes. The Minnesotan received 78 votes, followed by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) at 43 and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) at 29. The candidate with the fewest votes, Sessions, received eight.

The full results of the first round vote, according to two people with knowledge of the secret ballot:

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.): 78
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.): 34
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.): 29
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.): 27
Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) 18
Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) 16
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas): 8

While Emmer has long been considered a frontrunner in the speaker’s race, it’s unclear if he can secure the 217 votes needed for a House-wide floor vote — the same process that doomed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) before him. Some opponents of the majority whip have pointed to his reportedly negative relationship with Donald Trump, though Emmer worked over the weekend to embrace the former president and appease those critics.
His backers, including former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have touted the Minnesotan’s leadership resume, including two stints as head of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

“Tom Emmer has the foundation, being the NRCC chair, being the whip, that he could jump right into this job,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), though he declined to reveal his own personal choice for speaker.

And while several lawmakers in the Freedom Caucus have said they’re voting for Donalds — one of their own members — that group’s chair has kept his powder dry so far on Emmer.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said he wasn’t concerned about Emmer’s lead and declined to say if he would refuse to support Emmer. Asked about the majority whip’s voting record — which some conservatives have scoffed at — Perry said: “Nobody is perfect.”

Meanwhile, patience in the GOP conference is growing thin as Republicans face their 21st day without a speaker.

“At some point in time, we’re gonna have to fish or cut bait, as we say in Arkansas. We’re gonna have to get this thing behind us,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.)

As for what’s next, Womack said, Republicans should take the “very best” candidate, get that name to the floor and “see if we can see if we can end this madness.”

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