Webster claims early win in Speaker race: ‘We have moved the debate’
Rep. Daniel Webster, who’s vying to replace outgoing Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), is claiming an early victory Thursday in the wake of Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) move to step out of the Speakership race.
Webster, a third-term Florida Republican, emphasized that he does not consider himself the new favorite, nor does he have a sense of whether the shake-up even boosts his chances in the contest.
{mosads}But McCarthy’s surprising decision to pull his name rather than face off against conservative critics, Webster said, is a victory for those who thought Boehner, McCarthy and other GOP leaders adopted a top-down approach that excluded rank-and-file members.
“No matter who [gets] elected, we have moved the debate towards a member-driven process — no matter what,” Webster told reporters as he left the GOP meeting.
“And I don’t think [that notion] is going to be shaken. I think they [the next group of leaders] are going to have to step up and say, ‘Yes, we’ve got to change the way we operate the House.’ “
Webster said he didn’t know how many supporters he’d secured going into Thursday’s meeting, where Republicans were expecting to vote on a nominee to replace Boehner, who’s set to resign from Congress on Oct. 30. That nominee would then need 218 votes on the House floor to win the Speaker’s gavel.
“I knew I had one group, but I didn’t even know how big that group was,” Webster said. “I knew individuals, but a lot of people kind of kept their powder dry. So I don’t know. But I didn’t think I had 124.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is also running for the Speaker’s spot.
McCarthy would have had anywhere between 180 and 210 votes Thursday, according to Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), a McCarthy supporter. But the failure to secure the 218 votes he’d need on the House floor in a few weeks — and the stark intraparty divisions that had formed surrounding his candidacy — caused him to drop out, Dent added.
Webster said he was “99 percent sure” McCarthy would have won the nomination.
“I was shocked,” he said. “It was only just a short couple of sentences, and he just said he thought it was best to withdraw. It was just, silence.”
Asked whether he thinks he’s the favorite now, Webster didn’t hesitate.
“No, I don’t,” he said. “Because I just think there are other factors here, and it will be hard to determine how that’s all going to play out.”
Still, the former Florida statehouse Speaker said his message of empowering the rank and file members is resonating within the conference.
“I’m doing nothing differently. I’ve said all along I want to see a principle-based, member-driven conference. That’s my argument. I have no argument with any one individual person. I have an argument [with] the way the House runs today,” Webster said.
“It’s a whole new different dynamic [post-McCarthy], but the message stays the same,” he added. “[And] I think my message is selling.”
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