Unforeseen and unexpected events have recently rocked the Republican Party, especially its leadership in the House of Representatives. As a result, those on the right who once succeeded House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will be painfully and sadly disappointed if they do not seek this prestigious, if thankless, political position again.
Why? Because at least two Republicans in the House of Representatives he said it publicly fully intends to run for re-election again – despite rumors circulating to the contrary:
Since Eric Cantor is no longer his successor, it is more likely that John Boehner will remain as announcer.
After last week’s electionBoehner (R-Ohio) will soon have a recent leadership team and will be in a stronger position to mount a possible challenge after the midterm elections. While House Republicans are divided over whether there will be another leadership change in the fall, Tea Party members admit they missed their best chance for change in last week’s election for whip and majority leader.
Rumors have circulated for months that the 64-year-old Ohio native would not seek a third term as speaker. However, after the primary defeat of Rep. Cantor (R-Va.) and the subsequent replacement of top deputies, Boehner assured colleagues that he would remain in his position to ensure the stability of the conference.
“I always thought he would run again. Now I’m sure. He made that clear at the conference,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a staunch Boehner ally.
“Speaker Boehner is in a very strong position to be re-elected as Speaker. That is his intention and he certainly intends to serve in the next Congress,” said Rep. Charles Boustany (La.).
The articles also indicated that there are two reasons why Boehner wants to hold the Speaker’s gavel for another two years: first, after the last leadership elections, he wants to maintain a semblance of unity and cohesion in 2014 and beyond; second, messy bipartisan elections just after this year’s congressional midterms risk squandering hard-won political capital Republicans might otherwise have.
Nevertheless, there are unfounded rumors circulating floating around that some of the more hard-line caucus members will attempt to take down Boehner – either by urging other conservatives to come out against him or by challenging him. Either way, no such endeavor took place it went smoothly in the past and therefore probably won’t do it now, at least according to one of Boehner’s allies:
Cole acknowledged that some of the most conservative GOP members in the House could try to challenge Boehner or other members of leadership. However, he argued that these were largely empty threats.
“I think it’s a lot of wishful thinking for some people,” Cole said. “There will always be some people. But if you can’t work with John Boehner, I really wonder who you can work with.”
I’m sure not All Republicans in the House of Representatives share this sentiment. But everything is clear: if Boehner wants to serve another term as speaker (which he reportedly does), Republicans will have a firm time finding someone who can convincingly defeat him.
