How Many Votes Are Needed For Speaker Of The House

How Many Votes Are Needed For Speaker Of The House

How Many Votes Are Needed For Speaker Of The House? Usually, 218 votes, or a simple majority of the 435 House members, are the deciding factor. But as of the 118th Congress, it stands at 217. 

This year, Republican Chris Stewart of Utah and Democratic David Cicilline of Rhode Island both announced their resignations in September. Special elections will be held in November to fill both positions. For the time being, this means that if all 433 lawmakers are present and voting for a candidate, it only needs one vote less to obtain a majority.

Democrats have 212 seats in the House, while Republicans possess 221 of them. A unanimous Democratic opposition to any bill would result in the GOP losing only four votes, giving them a razor-thin majority of nine.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Jordan competed against one another within the Republican conference to be the GOP speaker contender after failing to receive 217 votes to succeed McCarthy. Scalise was the first Republican chosen by his party, but he withdrew from consideration after finding it difficult to win up enough Jordan backers.

Jordan received even less support; in a last Friday secret ballot, 55 Republicans declared their opposition to his candidature. He tried to sway their opinions over the weekend, and by Monday night, he had gained seven fresh endorsements on that single day. He and his allies believed Jordan would be elected speaker of the House on Tuesday. Jordan even told reporters that he might be elected on the first try.

But the results of the voting on Tuesday contradicted his optimism. Jordan needed 217 votes to win, but he only had 200 on Tuesday. By Wednesday, he had lost ground and only had 199 Republicans on his side.

Being elected speaker without 217

In this Congress, it is still feasible to become speaker without reaching 217 votes, although to do so, a candidate would need to persuade some opponents to switch their "no" votes to "present." In the House, legislation is approved by a majority of those who vote.

For instance, McCarthy persuaded enough of his GOP colleagues who had voted against him to support his candidature for the speakership in January, winning by a vote of 216-212. Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Eli Crane of Arizona, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Bob Good of Virginia, and Matt Rosendale of Montana, the six remaining Republicans who delayed their support for McCarthy up to the final vote, voted present.

With 216 votes, Rep. Nancy Pelosi also won her final speakership in 2021 despite having a smaller majority. McCarthy received every Republican vote, while five Democrats abstained or voted present. 

Table Of Content

• How many votes needed for speaker of house 2023?
• Who is the new speaker of the house?
• Who is eligible to be speaker of the house?
• Who is eligible to be speaker of the house?
• Speaker of the house vote?
• Speaker of the house list?
• Speaker of the house 2023?
• How many republicans are in the house?

How Many Votes Are Needed For Speaker Of The House