What to know about Speaker candidate Kevin Hern

Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) is back in the Speaker’s race after being eliminated in the GOP’s third closed-door nomination vote just hours earlier.

Hern announced his second candidacy Tuesday night, shortly after House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the winner of the earlier votes, withdrew his Speaker bid after he could not show the ability to win 217 votes on the floor.

Hern was previously eliminated in the fourth round of nomination voting on Tuesday morning. He was one of eight candidates seeking to take the Speaker’s gavel.

House Republicans will meet again on Monday evening before they hope to announce a new nominee on Tuesday. 

The House has been enthralled in chaos amid attempts to elect a Speaker after Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) lost his third attempt at securing the gavel in a floor vote Friday.

House Republicans will hold another candidate forum at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan, who called the situation “outrageous.” 

Here’s what you need to know about Hern: 

McDonald’s magnate

Hern made his start as a McDonald’s operations manager outside Little Rock, Ark., in the late 1990s.

He later purchased a franchise there, before moving to Oklahoma in the early 2000s. 

Hern quickly built a small empire of McDonald’s franchises, owning at least 18 near Tulsa, Okla. His business also expanded to other fields, including a hog farm and a small furniture manufacturer.

The Republican then leaned on his business acumen when running for Congress in 2018.

Elected to Congress

With no prior elected political experience, Hern won a contested Republican primary for an open seat and won election that November.

He currently serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and as the chair of the Republican Study Committee.

A loyalist to former President Trump, Hern has consistently stood by and defended the former president during his career in Congress — including unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Hern was among 126 Republicans who signed an amicus brief advocating for a Supreme Court case brought by the state of Texas alleging that the election was stolen. The court declined to hear the case.

He later voted against certifying the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021, alongside 146 other Republicans in the House.

First potential Speaker bid

Hern considered running for Speaker of the House in January 2023, amid the protracted effort which saw Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) named Speaker after 15 ballots.

He was first nominated by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) on the ninth ballot of that marathon voting session, and received as many as seven votes on the 11th ballot. Each time, Hern voted for McCarthy.

When McCarthy was ousted earlier this month in a historic vote, Hern initially bowed out of consideration, saying a three-man race between himself, Jordan and Scalise would hurt the party.

“I called, texted or met in-person with all 221 members of the House Republican Conference, asking each member what they want to see in the next Speaker and how we can move forward as a Majority,” he said in a statement at the time. “The overwhelming response I heard from you is that we must unify and come out of this situation stronger as a Majority.”

“While many of you have emphasized the necessity for new blood in our leadership, the need for unity comes first and foremost,” the Oklahoma Republican added.

During Scalise’s attempt at the Speakership, Hern made clear his intention to be named the new Majority Leader, passing out fliers alongside McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches.

Hern announces official run for Speaker

But, on Friday, he officially threw his hat in the ring again — after both Scalise and Jordan failed to get enough support to take the job.

He pitched himself as a unifier.

“It’s pretty obvious that our delegation is looking at something to be different than what we’ve seen so far,” he told reporters on Friday when asked why he is running. “I bring a different perspective than possibly anybody else that could be running in this race.”

“People want to be heard, they want to be valued, and I think that’s what you’re seeing right now,” he added. “There’s a lot of historical relationships that some are not going to ever be able to work around and I don’t have those negatives out there.”

This story was updated at 5:57 p.m.