House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan won the House Republican Conference’s nomination to become the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Friday, after his primary competitor, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, dropped out of the race.

Jordan, who has represented Ohio’s 4th Congressional District since 2007, won a secret ballot of conference members by a vote of 124 to 81, with the remainder going to Republican Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, who entered the race on Friday.

 

Jordan’s principal competitor in the race, Scalise, who was himself nominated by the conference on Wednesday, unexpectedly withdrew from the race on Thursday, after he failed to earn the support of a minority of members who objected to this candidacy. The House Republican Conference has a narrow majority of four seats in the chamber, and will require nearly all members voting in favor of Jordan for him to be elected speaker.

Jordan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Arjun Singh on October 13, 2023