{"id":2615999,"date":"2026-06-19T07:22:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kaptur-weighed-voting-for-mccarthy-as-speaker-book\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T07:23:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:23:34","slug":"kaptur-weighed-voting-for-mccarthy-as-speaker-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kaptur-weighed-voting-for-mccarthy-as-speaker-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaptur weighed voting for McCarthy as speaker: Book"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkaptur-weighed-voting-for-mccarthy-as-speaker-book%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2615999&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A new book reveals that during the lengthy Speaker of the House election in 2023,Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur,a Democrat representing a conservative district,almost voted for Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy&#8217;s aide, John Leganski, recounts that Kaptur considered crossing party lines amid intense negotiations and opposition from the Freedom Caucus. Despite her hesitation, she was ultimately persuaded not too change her vote.The article also highlights the unprecedented nature of such crossover votes and the intense intra-party conflicts, including threats and demands from conservative holdouts like Matt Gaetz. After multiple days of voting and dealmaking, McCarthy narrowly secured the speakership with help from a few defectors, but he was removed from the position nine months later amid ongoing Republican disagreements.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>EXCLUSIVE \u2014<\/strong> Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) nearly voted for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kevin-mccarthy\/\">Kevin McCarthy<\/a> as speaker during his lengthy floor election in 2023, a new book reveals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kaptur, a centrist who represents one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jared-golden-warns-of-the-toll-required-to-represent-a-toss-up-seat\/\" title=\"Jared Golden warns of the toll required to represent a toss-up seat\">reddest seats held<\/a> by a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\">Democrat<\/a>, \u201cseemed to be seriously contemplating\u201d changing her vote to put McCarthy over the top, according to McCarthy\u2019s longtime aide John Leganski, who detailed the account in <em>Glory, Grief, and the Gavel: An Inside Guide to Running for Speaker of the House<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The book, viewed by the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> ahead of its June 23 release date, sheds new light on McCarthy\u2019s marathon journey to become speaker, starting with <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >internal conference deliberations<\/a> after the midterm elections as members of the Freedom Caucus sought to block him.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the 14th vote, Kaptur \u201cwandered over to our side of the aisle to begin talking with Mike Turner, her fellow Ohio delegation mate,\u201d Leganski writes. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis isn\u2019t right, Mike,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turner replied: \u201cMarcy, if you want, you can end this right. I\u2019ll go over to the well with you and we change your vote and this will all be over.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the conversation continued, Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) \u201cswooped in like a \u2018witch on a broom\u2019 as one member later recalled, intercepting Marcy and angrily talking her out of the\u00a0plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd though this type of crossover vote was unprecedented in modern times, so too was a multi-ballot contest for Speaker that appeared to have no end in sight,\u201d Leganski reflected. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kaptur\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment from the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just once since 1913 has a member of Congress voted for the opposite party\u2019s nominee for speaker \u2014 in 2001, when James Traficant, also an Ohio Democrat, voted for Dennis Hastert. The move left him politically exiled from his caucus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McCarthy and his team believed they were on the precipice of striking a deal with conservative holdouts the day before the first speaker vote before Matt Gaetz, Leganski said, arrived for a meeting to demand plush <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-leaders-struggle-to-agree-on-splitting-power-over-dueling-stances-on-keeping-filibuster-in-practice\/\" title=\"Senate leaders struggle to agree on splitting power over dueling stances on keeping filibuster in practice\">committee assignments<\/a> and subcommittee chairmanships for the holdouts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gaetz also threatened that he and his House allies might elect Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) as speaker if McCarthy pursued a rule change to win by plurality, something Leganski said they never seriously considered.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The demands, when presented at a conference meeting, apparently sent the McCarthy loyalists into a fit, and they took turns excoriating the Freedom Caucus.\u00a0Gaetz was not a member of the group, but closely aligned to it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m on the Steering Committee, and if these holdouts don\u2019t want to support the nominee, that\u2019s fine. They just won\u2019t get committee assignments. That\u2019s the way it\u2019ll work!\u201d exclaimed Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL), according to Leganski. Rogers later got into a viral altercation with Gaetz on the House floor. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rogers\u2019s comments stopped any momentum McCarthy had toward winning, compelling lukewarm McCarthy detractors to dig their heels in against the speaker-designee. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leganski suggests he then knew they\u2019d face trouble getting to 218 votes. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The events led to four days of voting and dealmaking that came to a head with Kaptur\u2019s potential crossover in the late hours of Jan. 6, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kaptur, convinced not to change her vote, \u201cdejectedly walked back to the left side of the chamber\u201d with the House seeming likely to adjourn for the weekend, Leganski wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4611281\/house-freedom-caucus-uncertain-future-firebrands-exit\/\"><strong>HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE AS FIREBRAND MEMBERS HEAD FOR THE EXITS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her vote was not needed in the end. Before the House could gavel out of session, Gaetz, who voted \u201cpresent\u201d on the 14th ballot, decided he would push McCarthy over the edge that night. The four remaining holdouts switched their vote to \u201cpresent,\u201d giving McCarthy 216 and a majority of votes cast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The joy would be short-lived. Gaetz and seven other Republicans would join every Democrat in voting to remove McCarthy as speaker nine months later. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kaptur nearly voted for McCarthy in 2023 speaker race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4316,"featured_media":2616000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/mccarthy-kaptur-e1781817609999.jpg?1781789490&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[43915,3663,5894,52533],"class_list":["post-2615999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-houseofrepresentatives","tag-mccarthy","tag-politics","tag-vote-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/mccarthy-kaptur-e1781817609999.jpg?1781789490&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2615999"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2616003,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615999\/revisions\/2616003"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2616000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2615999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2615999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2615999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}