Lubbock's Congressman Flirted With a Run for Speaker of the House

LUBBOCK, TX — On Friday, Republican Congressman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) raised eyebrows when he hinted at the possibility of running for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. His journey in politics has come a long way since his initial setback in 2014 when he lost to Texas Senator Charles Perry. However, this defeat paved the way for him to eventually secure the congressional seat for CD-19. Arrington is now in his third term representing the district.

The ousting of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) on October 3rd set off a somewhat chaotic scramble to identify the next leader of the House. Already, two prominent figures in House Republicanism, Rep. Steve Scalise (Louisiana) and Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), failed to garner enough support from the Republican caucus.

During the third round of considerations, Arrington was one of three Texans who expressed interest in the speakership. The other two were car dealer Roger Williams (TX-25) and conservative Pete Sessions (TX-17). However, by Monday morning, both Arrington and Williams had withdrawn their candidacies.

Rep. August Pfluger, a member of the west Texas delegation, voiced his excitement about a potential run by Arrington for Speaker over the weekend. "Jodey hasn't confirmed his candidacy, but he could be an excellent candidate. A fiscally conservative representative from west Texas might be just what we need," Pfluger conveyed in a text message.

According to a report by The Texas Tribune, Arrington ultimately decided not to pursue the speakership.

This leaves nine remaining candidates in the race: Tom Emmer (MN-06), Mike Johnson (LA-4), Kevin Hern (OK-01), Byron Donalds (FL-19), Jack Bergman (MI-1), Austin Scott (GA-8), Daniel Meuser (PA-9), and Gary Palmer (AL).

All of the candidates are set to participate in a forum with other House members, which will take place behind closed doors. During the forum, each candidate will have two minutes to speak, followed by a 90-minute Q&A session with all House members. Following the Q&A, each candidate will be given 60 seconds for closing remarks.

According to Axios, despite the nine candidates, four of them—Emmer, Johnson, Hern, and Donalds—are considered top-tier contenders, as per an anonymous source.

In the current Congress, there are 221 Republicans and 212 Democrats, with two vacancies. To secure the speakership, a Republican candidate must garner more than 212 votes. Democrats typically vote as a unified bloc for their leader, Democrat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY).

Arrington's congressional district 19 makes an "L" on the map, spanning from Abilene to Big Spring and up to Lubbock.