As chair of the 156-member Republican Study Committee, Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma leads the largest ideological caucus in the U.S. Congress.
During January’s election for House speaker, Hern was one of the alternatives nominated by holdout conservatives as an alternative to eventual winner Kevin McCarthy.
Now, the speaker’s office is open again… but Hern has decided against running for House speaker.
Hern made the announcement Saturday. He expressed worries about a race with too many candidates and its potential to “draw this process out longer, creating further division which would make it harder for any candidate to reach 217 votes.”
“Following the results of the vote on Tuesday, many of you reached out to me encouraging me to run for Speaker of the House. I prayerfully considered those conversations, and over the past four days have carefully examined the question of who our next Speaker should be and whether I should announce my candidacy for the role,” Hern told his Republican colleagues in an open letter.
“While many of you emphasized the necessity for new blood in our leadership, the need for unity comes first and foremost.”
As of now, Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio remain the only two people to have announced a candidacy.
After promoting unity, Hern did not endorse either candidate over the other.
“I want two good friends of mine, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, to have the opportunity to earn 217 votes from our Conference. Steve and Jim are both former RSC [Republican Study Committee] chairmen and proven leaders,” Hern said in his letter.
Compared with Scalise and Jordan, Hern, 61, has not been in the House for long, elected in 2018. He’s spent most of his career in the private sector. In fact, he made millions as a McDonald’s franchisee and was part of its national leadership team.
As RSC chair, Hern’s become known as a policy wonk. In fact, the RSC has become known for proposing a budget plan every year since 1995, but it varies its other goals from year to year.
Hern concluded his letter by imploring his colleagues to “stay in the room” and “turn off our phones.”
Take a look —
I’ve been on the phone 50+ hours with Republican members and what’s clear is we all want UNITY.
I believe a three-man race for Speaker will create even more division and make it harder to elect a Speaker.
Read my letter here: pic.twitter.com/Sea4gPCS94
— Congressman Kevin Hern (@repkevinhern) October 7, 2023
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contribtued to this article.