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McCarthy elected GOP leader
The Hill
Russell Berman
6/19/2014
Excerpt:
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was elected Thursday by Republican lawmakers as the next House majority leader.
McCarthy, 49, defeated conservative Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) to become the second-ranking House Republican and replace Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.).
GOP aides announced McCarthy's victory. Vote totals were not provided.
Labrador, an outspoken sophomore lawmaker who only jumped into the race after other conservatives gave it a pass, argued that House Republicans should not respond to Cantor’s shocking primary loss by maintaining the status quo. Since 2011, McCarthy has served as majority whip, the No. 3 leadership post responsible for counting votes.
The victory will make the easy-going former deli owner a potential heir apparent to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), marking a rapid rise for a Republican first elected to the House in 2006.
A solid fundraiser with strong relationships throughout the Republican Conference, McCarthy had long prepared to succeed Cantor as majority leader whenever Boehner retired. But to the surprise of virtually everyone inside the Capitol, it was Cantor who left first, carried out of office by conservative voters in his own Richmond-area district.
When Cantor went down last week, McCarthy was ready.
While conservatives struggled to rally around a single challenger, he quickly consolidated support and pushed Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), the ambitious former GOP campaign chief, out of the race.
Labrador launched his bid on Friday, but with so many Republicans already committed to McCarthy, the question became not whether he would win but how many votes he could secure.
House Republicans do not announce the vote tallies of their leadership elections, so only a few people in the leadership know how close the election was. Labrador won public support from just a handful of members who have long opposed Boehner and his leadership team.
Along with Cantor and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), McCarthy is an original “Young Gun” who helped lead Republicans back into the House majority during the wave election of 2010. He personally recruited dozens of members of that historic class, forging bonds that helped him fend off potential challengers in the last week.
Known for his frequent references to “Fight Club” and for showing clips from movies like “The Town” to boost Republican morale, McCarthy has come under criticism for his inability to deliver at key times for the leadership. House Republicans have failed to garner enough party support to pass several major bills during his tenure, leading to whispers that his laid-back personality was not well-suited to the job of whip.
In swapping the buttoned-up Cantor for the sunnier McCarthy, lawmakers say the major change will not be policy but personality.
........................................
View the complete article, including video, at:
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/20...ted-gop-leader
The Hill
Russell Berman
6/19/2014
Excerpt:
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was elected Thursday by Republican lawmakers as the next House majority leader.
McCarthy, 49, defeated conservative Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) to become the second-ranking House Republican and replace Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.).
GOP aides announced McCarthy's victory. Vote totals were not provided.
Labrador, an outspoken sophomore lawmaker who only jumped into the race after other conservatives gave it a pass, argued that House Republicans should not respond to Cantor’s shocking primary loss by maintaining the status quo. Since 2011, McCarthy has served as majority whip, the No. 3 leadership post responsible for counting votes.
The victory will make the easy-going former deli owner a potential heir apparent to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), marking a rapid rise for a Republican first elected to the House in 2006.
A solid fundraiser with strong relationships throughout the Republican Conference, McCarthy had long prepared to succeed Cantor as majority leader whenever Boehner retired. But to the surprise of virtually everyone inside the Capitol, it was Cantor who left first, carried out of office by conservative voters in his own Richmond-area district.
When Cantor went down last week, McCarthy was ready.
While conservatives struggled to rally around a single challenger, he quickly consolidated support and pushed Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), the ambitious former GOP campaign chief, out of the race.
Labrador launched his bid on Friday, but with so many Republicans already committed to McCarthy, the question became not whether he would win but how many votes he could secure.
House Republicans do not announce the vote tallies of their leadership elections, so only a few people in the leadership know how close the election was. Labrador won public support from just a handful of members who have long opposed Boehner and his leadership team.
Along with Cantor and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), McCarthy is an original “Young Gun” who helped lead Republicans back into the House majority during the wave election of 2010. He personally recruited dozens of members of that historic class, forging bonds that helped him fend off potential challengers in the last week.
Known for his frequent references to “Fight Club” and for showing clips from movies like “The Town” to boost Republican morale, McCarthy has come under criticism for his inability to deliver at key times for the leadership. House Republicans have failed to garner enough party support to pass several major bills during his tenure, leading to whispers that his laid-back personality was not well-suited to the job of whip.
In swapping the buttoned-up Cantor for the sunnier McCarthy, lawmakers say the major change will not be policy but personality.
........................................
View the complete article, including video, at:
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/20...ted-gop-leader