Who could replace Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House?

The search for a new speaker in the House of Representatives is on, after a majority of members — including all Democrats and eight Republicans — voted to remove now-former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The Republican conference will conduct a candidate forum on Tuesday, Oct. 10, which will be followed by a vote the next day.

Here are the confirmed and potential candidates for House Speaker:

Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana

Scalise announced his run for speaker on Oct. 4.

He said, “We cannot lose sight of our shared mission. Now, more than ever, we must mend the deep wounds that exist within our conference and focus on our objectives so we can get back to work for the millions of people who are counting on us.

“It is with that sense of responsibility and purpose that I am seeking the conference’s nomination for speaker of the House.”

Scalise has served in Congress since 2008 and has received strong support from the members from the South, per Punchbowl News. Currently, Scalise serves as the House majority leader, the second highest leadership position among House Republicans.

While Scalise was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, he told The Associated Press that “treatments are going well so far.” He currently receives chemotherapy treatments in Washington, D.C.

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio

On Wednesday, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, announced his run for speaker.

“I helped to deliver the most significant legislative accomplishment this Congress: the strongest immigration and border enforcement bill ever. With other committee chairs and the members of the Judiciary Committee, I am doing the oversight and holding the Administration accountable. And I have been among the leaders in pushing for fiscal discipline my entire career. I respectfully ask for your support for the Speaker of the House of Representatives,” he said in a letter to House Republicans.

Last week, Jordan voted against a $300 million package to Ukraine. He told CBS, “The most pressing issue on Americans’ mind is not Ukraine. It’s the border situation and it is crime on the streets and everybody knows that. So let’s address those.”

Jordan has already received support from several representatives, including Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana.

In an X post, Massie said, “I support Jim Jordan for Speaker.”

Banks said, “We need a conservative fighter to stand up strong to the Biden White House and Democrat Senate and I can’t think of anyone better than Jim Jordan,” per NBC.

Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina

After McCarthy was ousted, McHenry was appointed to act as the House Speaker pro tempore until an official speaker is elected, per The Associated Press.

McHenry first ran for a seat in the House of Representatives while still a college student in 1998. Though he lost then, he won a seat in 2002 at age 27, per The Associated Press. McHenry has also “worked for a Washington-based media consulting firm, for George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign, and as a special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Labor.”

McHenry has a close relationship with McCarthy and publicly denied Gaetz’s allegations of a “secret deal” made with House Democrats on continuing resolutions, according to the Washington Examiner.

He also serves as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

In his temporary position so far, McHenry ousted former Speaker Nanny Pelosi from her “Capitol hideaway office,” per Politico. The email said, “Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed.”

Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma

Though he voted for McCarthy in January, Hern received several votes for House speaker during the previous election, according to CBS.

Hern has not confirmed he will run for the position, but told reporters on Capitol Hill, “people asking (me) about taking a different direction than what we’ve done historically in this Congress.” He continued, “So, I’m going around talking about this issue with other groups of people to see if the votes are there.”

Hern also appeared on Newsmax on Oct. 3. He listed his experiences running various businesses and serving as a Republican committee chair for the past nine months as reasons he feels he is qualified to act as House speaker.

Related

• The 8 Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy

Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida

Donalds was outspoken regarding McCarthy’s continuing resolution. He told Fox News, “Look, I’m gonna be honest. We did not get anything out of this continued resolution. The border is still unsecured in our country. Why is that? That’s because Joe Biden and the Democrats got their way. The Democrat members are very happy with what they got. I think this is a terrible deal for the American people.”

He also predicted McCarthy’s ousting, and said, “I think (McCarthy) is in trouble.” He discussed his reasoning, saying, “Part of that is because there has to be some level of strong leadership in our chamber. I’m just going to be totally blunt, there are a lot of trust issues in my chamber right now, where people feel on both sides of our conference that everybody is not going to hold hands and continue to do this work together.”

What happens if Republicans can’t decide on a speaker?

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal told CNN, if the Republican majority cannot elect someone, the Democratic nomination would be New York Rep. Hakeem Jefferies. She said, “Five Republicans could come over right now and help us elect Hakeem Jeffries as speaker.”

Jefferies released a statement following McCarthy’s ousting.

He said, “This is a solemn moment for the country and for the House of Representatives. The Constitution gifted us a government of the people, by the people and for the people. House Democrats will continue to put people over politics and work together in a bipartisan way to make life better for everyday Americans. It is our hope that traditional Republicans will walk away from MAGA extremism and join us in a partnership for the good of the country.”