by Nicholas Ballasy
Minnesota GOP Rep. Tom Emmer, the House majority whip, won his party’s nomination for House speaker on Tuesday after five rounds of secret ballot voting.
His nomination now moves to the House floor where it needs at least 217 votes to pass. It’s unclear when the vote will be held.
The declared candidates were Reps. Jack Bergman, Mich.; Byron Donalds, Fla.; Tom Emmer, Minn., Kevin Hern, Okla., Mike Johnson, La.; Gary Palmer, Ala.; Austin Scott, Ga.; and Pete Sessions, Texas.
Rep. Dan Meuser, Pa., was a declared candidate but he dropped out of the race Monday evening during the conference meeting that included a closed-door candidate forum.
Palmer dropped out on Tuesday.
All of the candidates signed onto a unity pledge, which is an agreement to support the speaker nominee on the House floor.
The top four candidates on the first, second and third ballot reportedly were Emmer, Johnson, Donalds and Hern. Emmer hit his highest total of 100 votes in the third round.
Emmer and Johnson, vice chair of the GOP conference, came in top two in the fourth round, eliminating Hern, who came in fourth. Donalds dropped out after coming in third place, Just the News has learned from a source. Emmer defeated Johnson the fifth round.
The winner who receives a majority of the GOP conference also needs at least 217 votes, a simple majority, on the House floor.
The Republican-controlled lower chamber has been without a speaker for nearly three weeks, after 8 GOP members ousted California Rep. Kevin McCarthy along with Democrat votes.
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Nicholas Ballasy has been breaking news for more than a decade in the nation’s capital and questioning political leaders about the most pressing issues facing the nation. Since 2008, Ballasy has interviewed former President Bill Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former President Donald Trump, Sen. Mitt Romney, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. John McCain, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and more.
