The founders of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) are scheduled on Monday to interview candidates interested in heading the conservative group of House members next year.
Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and John Campbell (R-Calif.) will sit down with RSC leaders to determine who will helm the group, which is now headed by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).
{mosads}Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) said he was “leaning toward” being interviewed, but stopped short of confirming that he would seek the two-year post.
Sources with knowledge of the RSC selection process said several members, including a founder, approached Blackburn to consider running for the position. The sources interviewed declined to elaborate on specifically who asked Blackburn.
“[Blackburn] was asked if she would make herself available for an interview and accepted,” Blackburn spokesman Claude Chafin said. “I would not say that she is campaigning for the job, but has consented to the interview out of respect for the organization and its founders.”
The founders are the members who reconvened the group in 1995 after it was disbanded by former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). Reps. Dan Burton (Ind.), John Doolittle (Calif.) and Sam Johnson (Texas) founded the group. They will be joined by former RSC Chairmen Reps. Mike Pence (Ind.), Sue Myrick (N.C.), John Shadegg (Ariz.) and Hensarling.
Retired Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.) was also a founding member.
Myrick said on Thursday that members who expressed interest in chairing the group would be evaluated based on what their plan is for the committee and where they want to take the committee in the future.
Once interested members of the RSC are interviewed, the founders select a candidate to recommend for the post, Pence said. Should a member not be selected and still wish to run, he can do so if he receive signatures from 25 percent of the RSC lawmakers.
The endorsed candidate is not guaranteed victory. In 2006, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) was selected by the founders but was defeated by Hensarling.
Pence said no firm date has been set for the selection of a candidate. RSC bylaws state that a new chairman must be selected by December. The RSC has 106 members.