Speakers of the House: Elections, 1913-2023

January 29, 2007 – November 6, 2023 RL30857

Speakers of the House: Elections, 1913-2023
November 6, 2023
Each new House elects a Speaker by roll call vote when it first convenes. Customarily,
the conference of each major party nominates a candidate whose name is placed in
Valerie Heitshusen
nomination. A Member normally votes for the candidate of his or her own party
Specialist on Congress and
conference but may vote for any individual, whether nominated or not. To be elected, a
the Legislative Process
candidate must receive an absolute majority of all the votes cast for individuals. This

number may be less than a majority (now 218) of the full membership of the House

because of vacancies, absentees, or Members answering “present.”
This report provides data on elections of the Speaker in each Congress since 1913, when the House first reached
its present size of 435 Members. During that period (63rd Congress through October of the first session of the
118th Congress), a Speaker was elected seven times with the votes of less than a majority of the full membership.
If a Speaker dies or resigns during a Congress, the House immediately elects a new one. Five such elections
occurred since 1913. In the earlier two cases, the House elected the new Speaker by resolution; in the more recent
three, the body used the same procedure as at the outset of a Congress. During the first session of the 118th
Congress, the House elected a new Speaker after having declared the position vacant earlier in the month.
If no candidate receives the requisite majority, the roll call is repeated until a Speaker is elected. Since 1913, this
procedure has been necessary only in 1923 and for the two elections in 2023. In 1923, nine ballots were required
before a Speaker was elected; in 2023, 15 ballots were required for the initial election and four for the subsequent
election.
From 1913 through 1943, more often than not, some Members voted for candidates other than those of the two
major parties. The candidates in question were usually those representing the “progressive” group (reformers
originally associated with the Republican Party), and in some Congresses, their names were formally placed in
nomination on behalf of that group. From 1945 through 1995, only the nominated Republican and Democratic
candidates received votes, reflecting the establishment of an exclusively two-party system at the national level.
In 13 of the 16 elections since 1997, however, some Members have voted for candidates other than the official
nominees of their parties. Only in the initial election in 2015 and the initial 2023 election, however, were any such
candidates formally placed in nomination. Usually, the additional candidates receiving votes have been other
Members of the voter’s own party, but in one instance, in 2001, a Member voted for the official nominee of the
other party. In the 1997, 2013, 2015 (both instances), 2019, and 2021 elections, as well as on some ballots during
both of the 2023 elections, votes were cast for candidates who were not then Members of the House, including, in
the initial 2015 election, the 2019 election, and the 2021 election, sitting Senators. Although the Constitution does
not so require, the Speaker has always been a Member of the House.
The report will be updated as additional elections for Speaker occur.

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Regular and Special Elections of the Speaker1
The traditional practice of the House is to elect a Speaker by roll call vote upon first convening
after a general election of Representatives.2 Customarily, the conference of each major party in
the House selects a candidate whose name is formally placed in nomination before the roll call. A
Member may vote for one of these nominated candidates or for another individual.3 In the great
majority of cases since 1913, Members vote for the candidate nominated by their own party
conferences, since the outcome of this vote in effect establishes which party has the majority and
therefore will organize the House.
Table 1 presents data on the votes by which the Speaker of the House of Representatives was
elected in each Congress from 1913 (63rd Congress) through October 2023 (118th Congress). It
shows the votes cast for the nominees of the two major parties, other candidates nominated from
the floor, and individuals not formally nominated.
Included in the table are not only the elections held regularly at the outset of each Congress but
also those held during the course of a Congress as a result of a Speaker’s death or resignation or
due to a declared vacancy in the position. Such elections have occurred six times during the
period examined:
• in 1936 (74th Congress) upon the death of Speaker Joseph Byrns;
• in 1940 (76th Congress) upon the death of Speaker William Bankhead;
• in 1962 (87th Congress) upon the death of Speaker Sam Rayburn;
• in 1989 (101st Congress) upon the resignation of Speaker Jim Wright;
• in 2015 (114th Congress) upon the resignation of Speaker John Boehner; and
• in 2023 (118th Congress) after the House declared a vacancy in the speakership.
On the two earlier occasions among these six, the election was by resolution rather than by roll
call vote. On the more recent four, the same general procedure was followed as at the start of a
Congress.4
Size of the House and Majority Required to Elect
The data presented here cover the period during which the permanent size of the House has been
set at 435 Members. This period corresponds to that since the admission of Arizona and New
Mexico as the 47th and 48th states in 1912. The actual size of the House was 436, and then 437, for

1 For key House precedents and general discussion of Speaker election procedures, see Precedents of the U.S. House of
Representatives, 115th Cong., 1st sess., H.Doc. No. 115-62 (Washington, GPO, 2019) (hereinafter Precedents
(Wickham)), ch. 6, §1. The volume is available online, referred to as the 2017 series, on the GovInfo website of the
U.S. Government Publishing Office at https://www.govinfo.gov/collection/precedents-of-the-house.
2 Until the 1830s, the Speaker was elected by secret ballot. See Asher C. Hinds, Hinds’ Precedents of the House of
Representative of the United States, vol. I (Washington, DC: GPO, 1906), §§187, 204-211. Also see Jeffrey A. Jenkins
and Charles Stewart III, Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government (Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 2013).
3 Candidates may vote for themselves, although they have often declined to vote or voted “present.”
4 In the 1989 and 2015 cases, because the Speaker resigned effective upon the election of a successor, each presided
over the election of his replacement. See Precedents (Wickham), ch. 6, §1, p. 395 (note 29) and §1.2. In the 2023
replacement election triggered by a declared vacancy in the speakership, a Speaker pro tempore had assumed certain
authorities of the Speaker (pursuant to House Rule I, clause 8(b)(3)) and thus presided over the election of a new
Speaker. See Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 169 (October 3, 2023), p. H4978.
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Speakers of the House: Elections, 1913-2023

a brief period between the admission of Alaska and Hawaii (in 1958 and 1959) and the
reapportionment of Representatives following the 1960 census.
By practice of the House going back to its earliest days, an absolute majority of the Members
present and voting is required in order to elect a Speaker. A majority of the full membership of the
House (218, in a House of 435) is not required. Precedents emphasize that the requirement is for a
majority of “the total number of votes cast for a person by name.”5 A candidate for Speaker may
receive a majority of the votes cast, and be elected, while failing to obtain a majority of the full
membership because some Members either are not present to vote or instead answer “present”
rather than voting for a candidate. During the period examined, this kind of result has occurred
seven times:
• in 1917 (65th Congress), “Champ” Clark was elected with 217 votes;
• in 1923 (68th Congress), Frederick Gillett was elected with 215 votes;
• in 1943 (78th Congress), Sam Rayburn was elected with 217 votes;
• in 1997 (105th Congress), Newt Gingrich was elected with 216 votes;
• in 2015 (114th Congress), John Boehner was elected with 216 votes;
• in 2021 (117th Congress), Nancy Pelosi was elected with 216 votes; and
• in 2023 (118th Congress), Kevin McCarthy was elected with 216 votes.
In addition, in 1931 (72nd Congress), the candidate of the new Democratic majority, John Nance
Garner (later Vice President), received 218 votes, a bare majority of the membership. The
historical table below does not take into account the number of vacancies existing in the House at
the time of the election; it therefore cannot show whether any Speaker may have been elected
lacking a majority of the then qualified membership of the House.6
If no candidate obtains the requisite majority, the roll call is repeated.7 On these subsequent
ballots, Members may still vote for any individual; no restrictions have ever been imposed, such
as that the lowest candidate on each ballot must drop out, or that no new candidate may enter.
Because of the predominance of the two established national parties during the period examined,
on only three occasions in the period has the House failed to elect on the first roll call.8 In 1923
(68th Congress), in a closely divided House, both major party nominees initially failed to gain a
majority because of votes cast for other candidates by Members from the Progressive Party or
from the “progressive” wing of the Republican Party. Many of these Members agreed to vote for
the Republican candidate only on the ninth ballot, after the Republican leadership had agreed to
accept a number of procedural reforms these Members favored. Thus the Republican was
ultimately elected, although (as noted earlier) still with less than a majority of the full

5 The Clerk, remarks from the chair (and parliamentary inquiry immediately following), Congressional Record, vol.
143, January 7, 1997, p. 117. See also Charles W. Johnson, John V. Sullivan, and Thomas J. Wickham Jr., House
Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents, and Procedures of the House (Washington, DC: GPO, 2017), ch. 34, §3,
which states that “the Speaker is elected by a majority of Members-elect voting by surname, a quorum being present.”
See also Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives, One Hundred Eighteenth
Congress, (compiled by) Jason A. Smith, Parliamentarian, 117th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Doc. 117-161 (Washington, GPO,
2023), §27.
6 The existence of vacancies at the point when a new House first convened was more common before the 20th
Amendment took effect in 1936. Until that time, a Congress elected in one November did not begin its term until
March of the following year, and did not convene until December of that year, unless the previous Congress provided
otherwise by law.
7 Precedents (Wickham), ch. 6, §1.
8 This occurrence, however, was more common before the period covered in this report, when the two-party system had
not become as thoroughly established nor the discipline accompanying it as pronounced.
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membership.9 At the start of the 118th Congress (in 2023), the House was also closely divided,
and the nominee of the majority party’s conference did not receive sufficient votes to be elected
due to some of the party’s members casting votes for other candidates. After 15 ballots over
several days, during which majority party Members engaged in negotiations over policy and
procedural differences, the majority party’s nominated candidate was elected when multiple
Members voted “present.”10 In October 2023, the House declared the office of the Speaker to be
vacant via adoption of H.Res. 757.11 Over subsequent weeks, the House took votes to choose a
new Speaker, who was elected on the fourth ballot.12
Third and Additional Candidates
In the first portion of the period covered by Table 1, it was common for candidates other than
those of the two major parties to receive votes. Such action occurred in 11 of the 16 Congresses
(63rd-78th) that convened from 1913 through 1943. On 7 of those 11 occasions, candidates other
than those of the two major parties were formally nominated. These events reflect chiefly the
influence in Congress, during those three decades, of the progressive movement. The additional
nominations were offered in the name of that movement, and the votes cast for Members other
than the major party nominees also generally represent an expression of progressive sentiments.
During this period, the occurrence of additional nominations (displayed in the table) reflects
changing views of Members identifying themselves as “progressives” about whether to constitute
themselves in the House as a separate Progressive Party caucus or as a wing of the Republican
Party. Additional nominations in the period also reflect shifts in the party labels by which these
nominees and others receiving votes chose to designate themselves. The last formal Progressive
Party nominee appeared in 1937 (75th Congress). After defeats in the following election, the only
two remaining Members representing the Progressive Party were reduced to voting for each other
for Speaker, and beginning in 1947 (80th Congress), the last standard-bearer of the tendency
accepted the Republican label. The demise of this movement in the House represented the final
stage in the establishment of a two-party system at the national level.
From 1945 through 1995 (79th-104th Congresses), only the official nominees of the two major
parties received votes for Speaker. This pattern, in other words, persisted from the end of World
War II and the advent of the “modern Congress”13 until after the Republicans had regained the
majority in the 104th Congress (1995-1996) after four decades as the minority party. During this
period, the presumption became firmly established that a Member’s vote for Speaker will reliably
reflect his or her party membership.
The opening of the 105th Congress in 1997, accordingly, marked the first time since 1943 that
anyone other than the two major party candidates received votes for Speaker. In 12 of the 15
speakership elections since then (1997-2023), at least one Member has voted for a candidate other
than ones formally nominated by the major party conferences. Early in this period, votes cast for
other candidates seem to have usually reflected specific circumstances and events, but in the most

9 See Table A-1 in Appendix for full results.
10 See Table A-2 in Appendix for full results.
11 The resolution was agreed to, 216-210. Upon adoption and pursuant to House Rule I, clause 8(b)(3), a Speaker pro
tempore (Rep. Patrick McHenry [NC]) assumed certain duties of the Speaker until a new one was elected. See
Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 169 (October 3, 2023), p. H4978. See also Precedents (Wickham), ch. 6, §1,
pp. 395-396.
12 See Table A-3 in the Appendix for full results.
13 The “modern Congress” is usually reckoned from the implementation in the 80th Congress (1947-1948) of the
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (P.L. 79-601, 60 Stat. 812).
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Speakers of the House: Elections, 1913-2023

recent instances, some of them may be regarded as reflecting action by identifiable political
factions or groupings. During this period, only in the initial election of 2015 and in some of the
ballots in the initial 2023 election have the names of any candidates other than those of the party
conferences been formally placed in nomination.
The ballots in 1997, 2013, 2015 (both instances), 2019, and 2021 and both elections in 2023 (for
some ballots) were also notable because votes were cast for candidates who were not Members of
the House at the time. In the initial election in 2015, two of the votes cast were for sitting
Members of the Senate; in 2019 and 2021, one such ballot was cast. In the initial 2023 election,
votes were cast for a former President of the United States and a former Member of Congress. In
the October 2023 election, votes were cast for three former Members of Congress (including a
former Speaker of the House). Although the Constitution does not require the Speaker (or any
other officer of either chamber) to be a Member, the Speaker has always been so; it is not known
that any votes for individuals other than Members to be Speaker had ever previously been cast in
the history of the House.
Notably, in 2001, a Member who bore the designation of one major party voted for the nominee
of the other. Although the table below does not indicate the party affiliation of the Members
voting for each candidate, examination of other available records confirms that no such action
had occurred at least for the previous half century.14

14 Subsequently, in organizing for that Congress (the 107th), the party caucus against whose nominee the Member voted
declined to provide him with committee assignments.
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Table 1. Votes Cast on Ballots Electing the Speaker, 1913-2023
Year
Republican Nominee
Votes
Democratic Nominee
Votes
Others Receiving Votes
Votes
1913
James R. Mann (IL)
111
James B. (“Champ”) Clark (MO)
272
Victor Murdock (P-KS)
18
Henry A. Cooper (R-WI)
4
John M. Nelson (R-WI)
1
1915
James R. Mann (IL)
195
James B. (“Champ”) Clark (MO)
222

1917
James R. Mann (IL)
205
James B. (“Champ”) Clark (MO)
217
Irvine L. Lenroot (R-WI)
2
Frederick H. Gil ett (R-MA)
2
1919
Frederick H. Gillett (MA)
228
James B. (“Champ”) Clark (MO)
172

1921
Frederick H. Gillett (MA)
297
Claude Kitchin (NC)
122

1923 (ballot #1)
Frederick H. Gil ett (MA)
197
Finis J. Garrett (TN)
195
Henry A. Cooper (R-WI)
17
Martin B. Madden (R-IL)
5
(ballot #9)
Frederick H. Gillett (MA)
215
Finis J. Garrett (TN)
197
Martin B. Madden (R-IL)
2
1925
Nicholas Longworth (OH)
229
Finis J. Garrett (TN)
173
Henry A. Cooper (R-WI)
13
1927
Nicholas Longworth (OH)
225
Finis J. Garrett (TN)
187

1929
Nicholas Longworth (OH)
254
John N. Garner (TX)
143

1931
Bertrand H. Snell (NY)
207
John N. Garner (TX)
218
George J. Schneider (R-WI)
5
1933
Bertrand H. Snell (NY)
110
Henry T. Rainey (IL)
302
Paul J. Kvale (F-L-MN)
5
1935
Bertrand H. Snell (NY)
95
Joseph W. Byrns (TN)
317
George J. Schneider (P-WI)
9
W.P. Lambertson (R-KS)
2
1936 (June 4)a

William B. Bankhead (AL)
voice vote

(H.Res. 543)b
1937
Bertrand H. Snell (NY)
83
William B. Bankhead (AL)
324
George J. Schneider (P-WI)
10
Fred L. Crawford (R-MI)
2
1939
Joseph W. Martin (MA)
168
William B. Bankhead (AL)
249
Merlin Hul (P-WI)
1
Bernard J. Gehrmann (P-WI)
1
1940 (Sept. 16)a

Sam Rayburn (TX) (H.Res. 602)b
voice vote

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Year
Republican Nominee
Votes
Democratic Nominee
Votes
Others Receiving Votes
Votes
1941
Joseph W. Martin (MA)
159
Sam Rayburn (TX)
247
Merlin Hul (P-WI)
2
Bernard J. Gehrmann (P-WI)
1
1943
Joseph W. Martin (MA)
206
Sam Rayburn (TX)
217
Merlin Hul (P-WI)
1
Harry Sauthoff (P-WI)
1
1945
Joseph W. Martin (MA)
168
Sam Rayburn (TX)
224

1947
Joseph W. Martin (MA)
244
Sam Rayburn (TX)
182

1949
Joseph W. Martin (MA)
160
Sam Rayburn (TX)
255

1951
Joseph W. Martin (MA)
193
Sam Rayburn (TX)
231

1953
Joseph W. Martin (MA)
220
Sam Rayburn (TX)
201

1955
Joseph W. Martin (MA)
198
Sam Rayburn (TX)
228

1957
Joseph W. Martin (MA)
199
Sam Rayburn (TX)
227

1959
Charles A. Halleck (IN)
148
Sam Rayburn (TX)
281

1961
Charles A. Halleck (IN)
170
Sam Rayburn (TX)
258

1962 (Jan. 10)a
Charles A. Halleck (IN)
166
John W. McCormack (MA)
248

1963
Charles A. Halleck (IN)
175
John W. McCormack (MA)
256

1965
Gerald R. Ford (MI)
139
John W. McCormack (MA)
289

1967
Gerald R. Ford (MI)
186
John W. McCormack (MA)
246

1969
Gerald R. Ford (MI)
187
John W. McCormack (MA)
241

1971
Gerald R. Ford (MI)
176
Carl B. Albert (OK)
250

1973
Gerald R. Ford (MI)
188
Carl B. Albert (OK)
236

1975
John J. Rhodes (AZ)
143
Carl B. Albert (OK)
287

1977
John J. Rhodes (AZ)
142
Thomas P. (“Tip”) O’Neill (MA)
290

1979
John J. Rhodes (AZ)
152
Thomas P. (“Tip”) O’Neill (MA)
268

1981
Robert H. Michel (IL)
183
Thomas P. (“Tip”) O’Neill (MA)
233

1983
Robert H. Michel (IL)
155
Thomas P. (“Tip”) O’Neill (MA)
260

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Year
Republican Nominee
Votes
Democratic Nominee
Votes
Others Receiving Votes
Votes
1985
Robert H. Michel (IL)
175
Thomas P. (“Tip”) O’Neill (MA)
247

1987
Robert H. Michel (IL)
173
Jim Wright (TX)
254

1989
Robert H. Michel (IL)
170
Jim Wright (TX)
253

1989 (June 6)a
Robert H. Michel (IL)
164
Thomas S. Foley (WA)
251

1991
Robert H. Michel (IL)
165
Thomas S. Foley (WA)
262

1993
Robert H. Michel (IL)
174
Thomas S. Foley (WA)
255

1995
Newt Gingrich (GA)
228
Richard A. Gephardt (MO)
202

1997
Newt Gingrich (GA)
216
Richard A. Gephardt (MO)
205
James Leach (R-IA)
2
Robert H. Michelc
1
Robert Walkerc
1
1999
J. Dennis Hastert (IL)
220
Richard A. Gephardt (MO)
205

2001
J. Dennis Hastert (IL)
222
Richard A. Gephardt (MO)
206
John P. Murtha (D-PA)
1
2003
J. Dennis Hastert (IL)
228
Nancy Pelosi (CA)
201
John P. Murtha (D-PA)
1
2005
J. Dennis Hastert (IL)
226
Nancy Pelosi (CA)
199
John P. Murtha (D-PA)
1
2007
John A. Boehner (OH)
202
Nancy Pelosi (CA)
233

2009
John A. Boehner (OH)
174
Nancy Pelosi (CA)
255

2011
John A. Boehner (OH)
241
Nancy Pelosi (CA)
173
Heath Shuler (D-NC)
11
John Lewis (D-GA)
2
Jim Costa (D-CA)
1
Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
1
Jim Cooper (D-TN)
1
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
1
Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD)
1
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Year
Republican Nominee
Votes
Democratic Nominee
Votes
Others Receiving Votes
Votes
2013
John A. Boehner (OH)
220
Nancy Pelosi (CA)
192
Eric Cantor (R-VA)
3
Allen Westc
2
Jim Cooper (D-TN)
2
John Lewis (D-GA)
1
Jim Jordan (R-OH)
1
Colin Powel c
1
Raúl R. Labrador (R-ID)
1
Justin Amash (R-MI)
1
John Dingell (D-MI)
1
David Walkerc
1
2015
John A. Boehner (OH)
216
Nancy Pelosi (CA)
164
Daniel Webster (R-FL)
12
Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
3
Ted S. Yoho (R-FL)
2
Jim Jordan (R-OH)
2
Jeff Duncan (R-SC)
1
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)c
1
Colin Powel c
1
Trey Gowdy (R-SC)
1
Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
1
Jim Cooper (D-TN)
1
Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR)
1
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)c
1
John Lewis (D-GA)
1
2015 (Oct. 29)a
Paul D. Ryan (WI)
236
Nancy Pelosi (CA)
184
Daniel Webster (R-FL)
9
Colin Powel c
1
Jim Cooper (D-TN)
1
John Lewis (D-GA)
1
2017
Paul D. Ryan (WI)
239
Nancy Pelosi (CA)
189
Tim Ryan (D-OH)
2
Daniel Webster (R-FL)
1
Jim Cooper (D-TN)
1
John Lewis (D-GA)
1
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Year
Republican Nominee
Votes
Democratic Nominee
Votes
Others Receiving Votes
Votes
2019
Kevin McCarthy (CA)
192
Nancy Pelosi (CA)
220
Jim Jordan (R-OH)
5
Cheri Bustos (D-IL)
4
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)c
2
Thomas Massie (R-KY)
1
Joseph Bidenc
1
John Lewis (D-GA)
1
Joseph P. Kennedy, III (D-MA)
1
Stephanie Murphy (D-FL)
1
Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH)
1
Stacey Abramsc
1
2021
Kevin McCarthy (CA)
209
Nancy Pelosi (CA)
216
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)c
1
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
1
2023 (Jan. ballot #1)
Kevin McCarthy (CA)
203
Hakeem S. Jeffries (NY)
212
Andy Biggs (R-AZ)
10
Jim Jordan (R-OH)
6
Jim Banks (R-IN)
1
Lee Zeldinc
1
Byron Donalds (R-FL)
1
(ballot #15)
Kevin McCarthy (CA)
214
Hakeem S. Jeffries (NY)
212

2023 (Oct. ballot #1)d
Jim Jordan (IN)
200
Hakeem S. Jeffries (NY)
212
Steve Scalise (R-LA)
7
Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
6
Lee Zeldinc
3
Mike Garcia (R-CA)
1
Tom Emmer (R-MN)
1
Tom Cole (R-OK)
1
Thomas Massie (R-KY)
1
(ballot #4)
Mike Johnson (LA)
220
Hakeem S. Jeffries (NY)
209

Source: Journals of the House of Representatives (for 2003-2011, Congressional Record, daily edition, and for 2013-2023, Clerk of the House website,
https://clerk.house.gov/Votes). Party designations are taken from the Congressional Directory for the respective years since these reflect a Member’s official party self-
designation; historical sources may differ as to the effective party affiliation of certain individuals.
Notes: Key:
Elected candidate in bold.
“Other” candidate’s name formally placed in nomination in italics.
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Party designations of “other” candidates: R = Republican, P = Progressive, F-L = Farmer-Labor.
Notes:
a. Special election to fil a vacancy in the speakership caused by death or resignation.
b. Elected by resolution, not by rol call from nominations.
c. Not a member of the House at the time.
d. Special election caused by House declaration of a vacancy in the Speaker’s office.

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Appendix. Multi-Ballot Speaker Elections Since 1913
Table A-1. 1923 (68th Congress)
(R)=Republican Party Nominee; (D)=Democratic Party Nominee

Dec. 3 (ballot #1) Dec. 3 (#2) Dec. 3 (#3) Dec. 3 (#4) Dec. 4 (#5)
Dec. 4 (#6)
Dec. 4 (#7)
Dec. 4 (#8)
Dec. 5 (#9)
Gil ett (R)
197
194
195
197
197
195
196
197
215
Garrett (D)
195
194
196
196
197
197
198
198
197
Cooper
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
-
Madden
5
6
5
5
5
5
5
5
2
Present
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
Source: Congressional Record, vol. 65 (December 3 - 5, 1923), pp. H8-H15.
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Table A-2. January 2023 (118th Congress)
(R)=Republican Party Nominee; (D)=Democratic Party Nominee
Jan. 3
Jan. 3
Jan. 3
Jan. 4
Jan. 4
Jan. 4
Jan. 5
Jan. 5
Jan. 5
Jan. 5 Jan. 5
Jan. 6
Jan. 6
Jan. 6
Jan. 7

(ballot #1)
(#2)
(#3)
(#4)
(#5)
(#6)
(#7)
(#8)
(#9)
(#10)
(#11)
(#12)
(#13)
(#14)
(#15)
McCarthy (R)
203
203
202
201
201
201
201
201
200
200
200
213
214
216
216
Jeffries (D)
212
212
212
212
212
212
212
212
212
212
212
211
212
212
212
Biggs
10
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Jordan
6
19
20
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4
6
2
-
Banks
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
-
Zeldina
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Donalds
1
-
-
20
20
20
19
17
17
13
12
-
-
-
-
Trumpa
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
Hern
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
3
7
7
3
-
-
-
Present
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
-
-
2
6
Source: Clerk of the House website (https://clerk.house.gov/Votes). See Rol Call vote numbers 2 through 4 (January 3); 5 through 7 (January 4); 9 through 13 (January
5); 15, 16, and 18 (January 6); and 20 (January 7).
Notes:
a. Lee M. Zeldin (NY, former Member of Congress) and Donald J. Trump (former President of the United States) were not Members at the time.
CRS-12

link to page 16 link to page 16 link to page 16 link to page 16 link to page 16
Table A-3. October 2023 (118th Congress)
(R)= Republican Party Nominee; (D)=Democratic Party Nominee
Oct. 17
Oct. 18
Oct. 20
Oct. 25

(ballot #1)
(#2)
(#3)
(#4)
Jordan (R)a
200
199
194
-
Jeffries (D)
212
212
210
209
Johnson (R)a
-
-
-
220
Scalise
7
7
8
-
McCarthy
6
5
2
-
Zeldinb
3
3
4
-
Garcia, Mike
1
1
1
-
Emmer
1
1
1
-
Cole
1
-
-
-
Massie
1
-
-
-
Donalds
-
1
2
-
Boehnerb
-
1
-
-
Granger
-
1
-
-
Westerman
-
1
1
-
Mil er, Candiceb
-
1
-
-
McHenry
-
-
6
-
Present
-
-
-
-
Source: Clerk of the House website (https://clerk.house.gov/Votes). See Rol Call vote numbers 521 (October 17), 523 (October 18), 525 (October 20), and 527
(October 25).
Notes:
a. Jordan was the Republican Party’s nominee on the first three ballots; Johnson was the party’s nominee on the fourth ballot.
b. Lee M. Zeldin (NY), John A. Boehner (OH), and Candice S. Mil er (MI) were former Members of Congress at the time.

CRS-13

Speakers of the House: Elections, 1913-2023

Author Information

Valerie Heitshusen

Specialist on Congress and the Legislative Process

Acknowledgments
This report was initially written by Richard S. Beth, former CRS Specialist on Congress and the Legislative
Process. The current author had updated the report in recent years and is available to answer inquiries from
congressional clients on the topic.

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
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