All but two of the 20 Republican House members who voted against Kevin McCarthy as speaker in Tuesday’s third ballot are election deniers who embraced former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.
Of the 18 deniers, 14 are returning members who voted against Electoral College certification on January 6, 2021. In addition, four newcomers who declined the election expressed support for that vote, embraced partisan post-election audits, or promoted false claims about 2020 Election Fraud.
Rep. Lauren Boebert as Rep. Matt Gaetz listens.Credit:AP
The tally reflects the extent to which election deniers dominate the House Republican caucus, accounting for more than three-quarters of the 222-member conference. A significant majority of McCarthy’s 202 votes – 157 – came from election deniers. But with Republicans holding only a slim majority, any Republican to run the House must receive near-unanimous support from caucus deniers to pass.
McCarthy himself espoused false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. So did Jim Jordan, who received votes from the 20 defectors on the third ballot.
The two Republicans who vote against McCarthy and are not deniers are Chip Roy of Texas, the only returning member in the group who did not oppose the certification of President Biden’s victory; and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, a newcomer to the House.
The 14 returning election deniers who voted against McCarthy are: Andrew S. Clyde of Georgia; Paul A. Gosar and Andy Biggs of Arizona; Florida’s Matt Gaetz and Byron Donalds; Lauren Boebert, Mary E. Miller, Andy Harris, Matthew M. Rosendale, Dan Bishop, Scott Perry, Ralph Norman, Michael Cloud, and Bob Good.
The four newcomers who voted against McCarthy are Eli Crane, Anna Paulina Luna, Andy Ogles and Keith Self.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, of conspiracy theorist fame, talks with Representative Kevin McCarthy during the opening day vote for House Speaker at the Capitol.Credit:AP
During the midterm election cycle, The mail identified candidates as election deniers if they questioned Biden’s 2020 victory, opposed the counting of his electoral college votes, voiced support for a partisan post-election ballot review, signed a lawsuit to overturn the 2020 result whether attending the election or rallying in support on the day of the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.