House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy will win the race to be the GOP’s House leader in January, barring a big surprise, as Republicans prepare to slip into the minority after eight years of control.
Party elections are slated for Wednesday.
Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana is running unopposed for the No. 2 spot of minority whip, the party’s chief vote-counter. And Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, is expected to win the job as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, the party’s chief message-maker.
The top race will be the chief focus for lawmakers looking to register their feelings about the GOP’s performance in the midterm elections.
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio is mounting a challenge to Mr. McCarthy, saying the midterms were a wake-up call, illustrating what happens when Republican leaders fail to deliver on the promises they make to voters.
“This might be a tough pill to swallow, but I believe that if we’d handled the past two years differently, we would still be the majority party in the House of Representatives,” Mr. Jordan said in a recent letter to his colleagues.
He said voters are passionate for President Trump but didn’t show up to vote for the House GOP because they believe Mr. Trump is doing more to fight for them.
A familiar coalition of vocal conservative groups has embraced Mr. Jordan, echoing his read on the political realities.
One of those, David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth, vouched Tuesday for Mr. Jordan, but acknowledged that Mr. McCarthy is the “inside favorite” for the job.
“Jim is a fighter. I think Jim would make a great minority leader,” he said.
It remains to be seen whether Mr. Jordan can translate that frustration into more than a few dozen votes.
“We’ll see,” Mr. Jordan told reporters. “That’s why they kick the ball off on Friday night. Now we’ve got to play the game and see who is going to win.”
Mr. Jordan has maintained that Mr. McCarthy was part of the leadership that left conservative voters frustrated with lack of accomplishments.
It’s not clear, though, that most Republicans blame Mr. McCarthy for the party’s election losses or failures.
For one, members say the losses, while rough, weren’t the wipeouts seen in the 1994 and 2010 wave elections.
Also, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who has led the party for the last three years, is retiring, and Mr. McCarthy has taken steps to tie himself more closely to Mr. Trump.
“I think Kevin will be the minority leader,” Rep. Brian Mast of Florida told The Washington Times.
“Kevin has done an outstanding job,” Mr. Mast said, pointing out that Mr. McCarthy was fully committed to helping GOP candidates in the midterms. “He busted his tail going around for everybody — not just at the last minute, but throughout the two years that I’ve spent my time here.”
Mr. McCarthy is confident he has lined up enough votes to win.
He is reminding his colleagues of the role he played in the GOP’s takeover of the House in the 2010 elections and telling them he can do it again by focusing on moving forward with strong economic and national security policy.
“Our mission is to demonstrate that the road to America’s success is paved by conservative solutions,” Mr. McCarthy said in a letter to lawmakers. “You can count on me fighting in every corner of this nation to draw a contrast with the radical left, make the case for our shared values and priorities, and prove the naysayers wrong once again.”
Mr. McCarthy, 53, and Mr. Jordan, 54, were both first elected in 2006.
Mr. McCarthy has been a member of leadership since 2009 and has served as House majority leader since 2014.
Other leadership posts will be filled Wednesday.
Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota is running to lead the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s campaign arm. Rep. Mark Walker of North Carolina is running unopposed for Republican Conference vice chairman and Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri is running for Republican Conference secretary.
Reps. Gary Palmer of Alabama and David Schweikert of Arizona are competing to lead the Republican Policy Committee.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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