2019 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election explained

Election Name:2019 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
Flag Image:Seal of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.svg
Type:legislative
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2017 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
Previous Year:2017
Next Election:2021 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
Next Year:2021
Seats For Election:Needed to win: Majority of the votes cast
430 votes cast, 216 needed for a majority
Vote Type:Members'
Image1:File:Official photo of Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2019.jpg
Candidate1:Nancy Pelosi
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:220
Percentage1:51.16%
Candidate2:Kevin McCarthy
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:192
Percentage2:44.65%
Candidate4:Others
Popular Vote4:18
Percentage4:4.19%
Speaker
Before Election:Paul Ryan
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Nancy Pelosi
After Party:Democratic Party (United States)

On January 3, 2019, the first day of the 116th United States Congress and two months after the 2018 U.S. House elections, the incoming members of the U.S. House of Representatives held an election for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. This was the 126th U.S. speaker election since the office was created in 1789.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi received 220 votes, a majority of the chamber, to become its speaker. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy garnered 192 votes, with 18 more going to others. As only 430 representatives in the 435-member House cast a vote (due to vacancies, absentees, or members being present but not voting), 216 votes were necessary in order to win.

Immediately after the election, the Dean of the United States House of Representatives, Don Young, administered the oath of office to the new speaker. Pelosi in turn administered the oath of office en masse to the rest of the members of the United States House of Representatives.

Incumbent speaker Paul Ryan did not run for re-election to the House.[1] With the Democratic caucus assuming control of the House in January 2019, Pelosi had been the speaker-presumptive since the incoming House Democratic Caucus formally nominated her the previous November.__TOC__

Process and conventions

The speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The House elects its speaker at the beginning of a new Congress (i.e., after a general election) or when a speaker dies, resigns or is removed from the position intra-term. Since 1839, the House has elected speakers by roll call vote.[2] Traditionally, each party's caucus or conference selects a candidate for the speakership from among its senior leaders prior to the roll call. Representatives are not restricted to voting for the candidate nominated by their party, but generally do, as the outcome of the election effectively determines which party has the majority and consequently will organize the House.[3] Representatives that choose to vote for someone other than their party's nominated candidate usually vote for another member within the party or vote "present".

Moreover, as the Constitution does not explicitly state that the speaker must be an incumbent member of the House, it is permissible for representatives to vote for someone who is not a member of the House at the time, and non-members have received a few votes in various speaker elections over the past several years.[4] Nevertheless, every person elected speaker has been a member.[3]

To be elected speaker, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes cast, as opposed to an absolute majority of the full membership of the Housepresently 218 votes, in a House of 435. There have only been a few instances during the past century where a person received a majority of the votes cast, and thus won the election, while failing to obtain a majority of the full membership. At the time, it happened most recently in January 2015 (114th Congress), when John Boehner was elected with 216 votes (as opposed to 218). Such a variation in the number of votes necessary to win a given election might arise due to vacancies, absentees, or members being present but not voting. If no candidate wins a majority of the "votes cast for a person by name," then the roll call is repeated until a speaker is elected.[3] Multiple roll calls have been necessary only 15 times since 1789; and, at the time, not since 1923 (68th Congress), when a closely divided House needed nine ballots to elect Frederick H. Gillett speaker.[5] Upon winning election the new speaker is immediately sworn in by the Dean of the United States House of Representatives, the chamber's longest-serving member.[6] [7]

Democratic Party

During the midterm election campaign, there were indications that many of the incoming Democrats would not support party leader Nancy Pelosi for the speakership. After taking back the House in November, Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge was mentioned as a possible alternative. However, she quickly bowed out after being offered the chairmanship of the House Administration Subcommittee on Elections. Other possible defectors, including incoming New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, later publicly declared their support for Pelosi.

Nominee

Declined to run

Results

The Democratic caucus vote was held on November 28, 2018; as Pelosi was the only declared candidate, the vote was presented as a single question of approval.[13]

CandidateVotesPercent
Yes 20385.29%
No3213.45%
Blank ballots31.26%

Republican Party

The race for the leadership of the House Republicans began well before Ryan's official announcement, as it had been rumored for months.

Nominee

Lost nomination

Declined to run

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Jim
Jordan
Steve
Scalise
Kevin
McCarthy
OtherUndecided
The Economist/YouGov[16] September 30 – October 2, 20181,500±2.9%align=center style="background:#fff"18%16%8%1%align=center style="background:#fff"45%
Morning Consult/Politico[17] August 10–12, 20181,992±2.0%11%9%align=center style="background:#fff"18%

Results

The Republican Caucus vote was held on November 14, 2018, electing McCarthy to serve their leader during the 116th Congress.[18]

CandidateVotesPercent
Kevin McCarthy 15978.7%
Jim Jordan4321.3%

Election of the speaker

In the run-up to the election, Pelosi was able to secure enough support to ensure her the speakership, though there were still a few holdouts.[19] She accomplished this by, among other things, pledging to limit her time as speaker to four years (two two-year terms) at most.[20]

Upon convening at the start of the 116th Congress, the House proceeded to elect its speaker by roll call vote, with the Clerk presiding. Rodney Davis (R-IL), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) were appointed to serve as tellers to tabulate the vote.[21] Ultimately, Pelosi received 220 of the 430 votes cast, though 15 Democrats chose to vote for someone else. Republicans, with six exceptions, voted for party leader McCarthy, who garnered 192 votes.[22] The vote count in the January 3, 2019 speaker of the House election was:[3]

Representatives voting for someone other than their party's speaker nominee were:
 Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar of Arizona; Jody Hice of Georgia; Thomas Massie of Kentucky; and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania voted for Jim Jordan;
 Joe Cunningham of South Carolina; Jared Golden of Maine; Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey; and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia voted for Cheri Bustos;
 Jason Crow of Colorado and Max Rose of New York voted for Tammy Duckworth, who was not a member of the House at the time;
 Kathleen Rice of New York voted for Stacey Abrams, who was not a member of the House at the time;
 Anthony Brindisi of New York voted for Joe Biden, who was not a member of the House at the time;
 Kurt Schrader of Oregon voted for Marcia Fudge;
 Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania voted for Joe Kennedy III;
 Ron Kind of Wisconsin voted for John Lewis;
 Justin Amash of Michigan voted for Thomas Massie;
 Ben McAdams of Utah voted for Stephanie Murphy.

Additionally, three Democrats answered present when their name was called:
  Jim Cooper of Tennessee; Elissa Slotkin of Michigan; and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: US House Speaker Paul Ryan to stand down. April 11, 2018. Bbc.com.
  2. Web site: Forte. David F.. Essays on Article I: Speaker of the House. Heritage Guide to The Constitution. Heritage Foundation. January 11, 2019.
  3. Web site: Heitshusen. Valerie. Beth. Richard S.. Speakers of the House: Elections, 1913–2019. January 4, 2019. CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress. Washington, D.C.. January 11, 2019.
  4. Web site: Grier. Peter. September 25, 2015. John Boehner exit: Anyone can run for House speaker, even you. The Christian Science Monitor. January 11, 2019.
  5. Web site: Speaker Elections Decided by Multiple Ballots. history.house.gov. United States House of Representatives. January 22, 2019.
  6. Web site: Fathers/Deans of the House. history.house.gov. United States House of Representatives. January 11, 2019.
  7. Web site: Election of the Speaker Overview. constitution.laws.com. January 11, 2019.
  8. Web site: Queens party boss angles to succeed Pelosi as speaker. Politico.com.
  9. News: The Latest: House Dems re-elect Hoyer, Clyburn to top roles. November 28, 2018. AP NEWS. November 29, 2018.
  10. Web site: Julie Hirschfeld Davis. November 20, 2018. Pelosi's One Potential Rival Cuts Deal and Drops Speaker Challenge. New York Times.
  11. Web site: Killough . Ashley . Jeffries to run for Democratic caucus chair . Cnn.com . November 20, 2018.
  12. News: The Democratic Insurgents Who Want to Topple Nancy Pelosi. Kroll. Tim Dickinson,Andy. November 16, 2018. Rolling Stone. November 29, 2018. en-US.
  13. Web site: The Democratic Caucus Nominated Its Leadership. Here's What It Means.. The New York Times. Cochrane. Emily. November 28, 2018. December 21, 2018.
  14. News: Bade . Rachael . Rachael Bade. Scalise to back McCarthy for speaker . Politico.com . April 13, 2018.
  15. Web site: GOP Braces for Brutal Leadership Race. Politicalwire.com.
  16. Web site: Poll: Republicans narrowly prefer Jordan to lead House GOP . TheHill.com . October 11, 2018 . November 11, 2018.
  17. Web site: National Tracking Poll #180814. August 10–12, 2018. Morningconsult.com.
  18. Web site: House Republicans Pick Kevin McCarthy as Their Next Leader. The New York Times. November 14, 2018. November 16, 2018. Fandos. Nicholas.
  19. Web site: Never-Nancy Dems risk election backlash for flipping on Pelosi vote, in 1st congressional test. Fred. Lucas. December 27, 2018. Fox News. December 29, 2018.
  20. Web site: Caygle. Heather. Bade. Rachael. Bresnahan. John. Pelosi clinches deal with rebels in speakership standoff. December 12, 2018. Politico. February 5, 2019.
  21. Web site: House Floor Activities: Legislative Days of January 03, 2019. Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. Washington, D.C.. February 4, 2019.
  22. News: McPherson . Lindsey . Pelosi elected speaker with 15 Democratic defections . February 5, 2019 . Roll Call . January 3, 2019 . February 2, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190202223126/https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/pelosi-elected-speaker-15-democratic-defections . dead .