House speaker: SC Congressman Ralph Norman flips vote on Kevin McCarthy's 12th vote

Congressman Ralph Norman, R-5th District, was among a handful of holdouts who switched their votes to McCarthy during the 12th vote for speaker Friday.

Although McCarthy didn't get the 218 votes needed, he edged closer with Norman's support.

On Thursday, Norman was among 20 Republicans who voted for someone else besides McCarthy.

Later Friday afternoon, Norman issued this statement:

"From the beginning, I've been clear that restoring fiscal sanity to Congress is my top priority. It's crucial for the next Republican Speaker to leverage every tool at his disposal to cut spending, balance the budget, and start paying down our massive levels of debt.

"The status quo is failing our nation. We cannot continue the reckless spending and borrowing on the backs of our children. That's why I am pleased to have reached an agreement with Rep. McCarthy on concrete steps he will take to fix our budgeting and appropriations processes, as well as much needed rules changes in the House.

"While this has not been an easy process, I'm confident this agreement will place us on an excellent trajectory, and I look forward to working with Speaker-designate McCarthy as we move forward."

Two other Upstate congressmen, William Timmons, R-4th District, and Jeff Duncan, R-3rd District, have consistently voted for McCarthy, the former House Minority Leader.

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This is the most ballots in this normally pro forma election since just before the Civil War.

Norman has previously said he will continue to oppose him because he is too much a part of the establishment.

Three Upstate South Carolina congressmen have differing opinions regarding the ongoing debates and votes as the U.S. House of Representatives continues to fail to elect a House speaker.

In the seventh and eighth votes Thursday, Norman voted for Rep.-elect Byron Donalds of Florida.

"Above all else, Rep. Norman 's overriding concern is our deficit spending and massive debt," said Norman spokesman Austin Livingston. "What Rep. Norman needs are firm guarantees that Rep. McCarthy will leverage every tool within his disposal as as speaker to place our nation on a trajectory to balance the budget within a reasonable period of time, which will absolutely require spending cuts.

"Rep. Norman is currently not convinced Rep. McCarthy is willing to stand strong on this critical issue. However, discussions are ongoing and this remains a very fluid situation."

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Norman said, "I am certainly aware that when you stand up against the establishment and status quo, the proverbial knives come out for you. I've got fellow Republicans threatening me with primary opposition ‒ that's fine. Others threatening to keep me off committees ‒ that's fine too."

Norman's district covers parts of eastern Spartanburg County, all of Cherokee and Union counties and portions of the Midlands and Cherokee metropolitan areas in South Carolina.

Timmons indicated he will continue to support McCarthy.

"Every day we delay electing the speaker is another day we cannot get to work for the American people and get our country back on track," Timmons told the Herald-Journal Thursday. "Just like President Trump and the vast majority of the Republican conference, I support Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House to enact our conservative agenda, hold the Biden administration accountable and get things done."

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Timmons' district includes a majority of Greenville and Spartanburg counties.

After three days with seven votes through early Thursday afternoon, Duncan said the House needs to end the debacle as soon as possible.

"We can all have ideas and thoughts on the speaker of the House," he said in a Facebook post Wednesday. "But every second that Congress isn’t organized, the administration remains unchecked ‒ and the agencies continue to operate unchecked ‒ and continue to erode the liberties of the American people.

"I (and We in the House) are ready to do the work that the American people entrusted us to do by giving us a governing majority."

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Duncan's district includes much of the Upstate west of Greenville and southward, including Anderson, Newberry and Greenwood.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: House speaker: Three Upstate SC congressmen split on McCarthy vote