House

These 21 Republicans did not support McCarthy on Day 2 of the Speaker’s vote

by Mychael Schnell - 01/04/23 2:03 PM ET

Twenty-one Republicans opted against supporting Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on day two of the Speaker’s race, denying him the gavel on the fourth ballot.

McCarthy received 201 votes on Wednesday’s fourth ballot, short of the simple majority he needed to win the gavel. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) received 212 votes.

Twenty Republicans voted for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) instead of McCarthy, and one other GOP lawmaker — Rep. Victoria Spartz (Ind.) — voted present. Spartz voted for McCarthy on the first three ballots before moving to the present column on the fourth.

Spartz is the first member to vote present in the current Speaker’s race.

The same 20 Republicans who backed Donalds voted against McCarthy during the third ballot on Tuesday, throwing their support behind Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for the top spot. Nineteen members of the group — all but Donalds — voted against McCarthy on the first and second ballot.

The House is now set to move to a fifth ballot. The Speaker’s race made history on Tuesday, marking the first time in a century that the position was not elected on the first ballot.

The outcome of the fourth ballot is a blow to McCarthy, who failed to flip any of his detractors into supporters. That came even after former President Trump urged all Republicans to vote for McCarthy, writing on Truth Social on Wednesday morning, “VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY.”

“Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!” he added.

Here is a list of the Republicans who did not support McCarthy on the fourth ballot:

Rep. Andy Biggs (Ariz.)

Rep. Dan Bishop (N.C.)

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.)

Rep.-elect Josh Brecheen (Okla.)

Rep. Michael Cloud (Texas)

Rep.-elect Eli Crane (Ariz.)

Rep. Andrew Clyde (Ga.)

Rep. Byron Donalds (Fla.)

Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.)

Rep. Bob Good (Va.)