Editing Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (section)

== Notable elections ==
{{see also|List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections}}
{{Politics of the United States}}
Historically, there have been several controversial elections to the speakership, such as the contest of 1839. In that case, even though the [[26th United States Congress]] convened on December 2, the House could not begin the speakership election until December 14 because of an election dispute in [[New Jersey]] known as the "[[Broad Seal War]]". Two rival delegations, one [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] and the other Democrat, had been certified as elected by different branches of the New Jersey government. The problem was compounded by the fact that the result of the dispute would determine whether the Whigs or the Democrats held the majority. Neither party agreed to permit a speakership election with the opposite party's delegation participating. Finally, it was agreed to exclude both delegations from the election and a speaker was finally chosen on December 17.

Another, more prolonged fight occurred in 1855 in the [[34th United States Congress]]. The old [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] had collapsed but no single party had emerged to replace it. Candidates opposing the Democrats had run under a bewildering variety of labels, including Whig, [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], American ([[Know Nothing]]), and simply "[[Opposition Party (Northern U.S.)|Opposition]]". By the time Congress actually met in December 1855, most of the northerners were concentrated together as Republicans, while most of the southerners and a few northerners used the American or Know Nothing label. Opponents of the Democrats held a majority in House, with the party makeup of the 234 representatives being 83 Democrats, 108 Republicans, and 43 Know Nothings (primarily southern oppositionists). The Democratic minority nominated [[William Alexander Richardson]] of Illinois as speaker, but because of sectional distrust, the various oppositionists were unable to agree on a single candidate for speaker. The Republicans supported [[Nathaniel Prentice Banks]] of Massachusetts, who had been elected as a Know Nothing but was now largely identified with the Republicans. The southern Know Nothings supported first [[Humphrey Marshall (general)|Humphrey Marshall]] of Kentucky, and then [[Henry M. Fuller]] of Pennsylvania. The voting went on for almost two months with no candidate able to secure a majority, until it was finally agreed to elect the speaker by plurality vote, and Banks was elected.<ref>Allan Nevins. ''Ordeal of the Union, Volume II: A House Dividing 1852–1857'' (New York, 1947), 413–415.</ref>

The House found itself in a similar dilemma when the [[36th Congress]] met in December 1859. Although the Republicans held a plurality, the Republican candidate, [[John Sherman]], was unacceptable to southern oppositionists due to his anti-slavery views, and once again the House was unable to elect a speaker. After Democrats allied with southern oppositionists to nearly elect the North Carolina oppositionist [[William N. H. Smith]], Sherman finally withdrew in favor of compromise candidate [[William Pennington]] of New Jersey, a former Whig of unclear partisan loyalties, who was finally elected speaker on February 1, 1860.<ref>Allan Nevins. ''The Emergence of Lincoln, Volume II: Prologue to Civil War, 1859–1861'' (New York, 1950), 116–123.</ref>

In December 1923, at the start of the [[68th Congress]], Republican [[Frederick H. Gillett]] needed nine ballots to win reelection. [[Progressive Republican]]s had refused to support Gillett in the first eight ballots. Only after winning concessions from Republican conference leaders (a seat on the [[House Rules Committee]] and a pledge that requested House rules changes would be considered) did they agree to support him.<ref name="Openingday1">{{cite news| last=Wolfensberger| first=Don| title=Opening day of new Congress: Not always total joy| work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]| date=December 12, 2018| url=https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/420984-opening-day-of-new-congress-not-always-total-joy| access-date=March 1, 2019| archive-date=January 14, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114194645/https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/420984-opening-day-of-new-congress-not-always-total-joy| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=WaPo162015>{{cite news| last=Blake| first=Blake| date=January 6, 2015| title=John Boehner just endured the biggest revolt against a House speaker in more than 150 years| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/01/06/boehner-could-face-biggest-speaker-defection-since-1923/?noredirect=on| newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]| access-date=March 1, 2019| archive-date=January 14, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114194755/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/01/06/boehner-could-face-biggest-speaker-defection-since-1923/?noredirect=on| url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1997, several Republican congressional leaders tried to force Speaker [[Newt Gingrich]] to resign. However, Gingrich refused since that would have required a new election for speaker, which could have led to Democrats along with dissenting Republicans voting for Democrat [[Dick Gephardt]] (then minority leader) as speaker. After the 1998 midterm elections where the Republicans lost seats, Gingrich did not stand for re-election. The next two figures in the House Republican leadership hierarchy, Majority Leader [[Richard Armey]] and Majority Whip [[Tom DeLay]] chose not to run for the office. The chairman of [[United States House Committee on Appropriations|the House Appropriations Committee]], [[Bob Livingston]], declared his bid for the speakership, which was unopposed, making him speaker-designate. It was then revealed, by Livingston himself, who had been publicly critical of President [[Bill Clinton]]'s alleged [[perjury]] during his sexual harassment trial, that he had engaged in an extramarital affair. He opted to resign from the House, despite being urged to stay on by House Democratic leader Gephardt. Subsequently, the chief deputy whip [[Dennis Hastert]] was selected as speaker. The Republicans retained their majorities in the 2000, 2002, and 2004 elections.

The Democrats won a majority of seats in the 2006 midterm elections. On November 16, 2006, [[Nancy Pelosi]], who was then minority leader, was selected as speaker-designate by House Democrats.<ref>[http://www.sfgov.org/site/cosw_page.asp?id=51838 San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015709/http://www.sfgov.org/site/cosw_page.asp?id=51838 |date=September 30, 2007}}. City & County of San Francisco, November 16, 2006. Retrieved on July 5, 2007.</ref> When the 110th Congress convened on January 4, 2007, she was elected as the 52nd speaker by a vote of 233–202, becoming the first woman elected speaker of the House.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/05/washington/05cong.html|title=Jubilant Democrats Assume Control on Capitol Hill|author=John M. Broder|work=The New York Times|date=January 5, 2007|access-date=February 8, 2018|language=en|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114194801/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/05/washington/05cong.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Pelosi was reelected speaker in the 111th Congress, and again in the 116th and 117th Congresses.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-portrait-of-speaker-nancy-pelosi-unveiled-in-congress-to-join-gallery-of-predecessors|title=Portrait of Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled at the Capitol as historic tenure nears end|date=December 14, 2022|work=PBS|access-date=January 4, 2023}}</ref>

The [[January 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election|January 2023 speakership election]] occurred two months after the [[2022 United States House of Representatives elections|2022 House elections]] in which the Republicans won a slim four-seat majority. [[Kevin McCarthy]] was nominated for speaker by the [[House Republican Conference]] but due to a division among the Republicans, no one received a majority of the votes on the first ballot, necessitating an additional round of balloting for the first time since 1923. McCarthy ultimately prevailed when the remaining six anti-McCarthy holdouts voted "[[Abstention|present]]" on the 15th ballot, ending the longest multiple-ballot speaker election since before the Civil War.<ref>{{cite news| last1=Debusmann| first1=Bernd| last2=Murphy| first2=Matt| title=Kevin McCarthy elected US House Speaker after 15 rounds of voting| date=January 7, 2023| work=BBC News| url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64193932| access-date=January 9, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Vote Count: McCarthy Elected House Speaker After 15 Ballots| first1=Allison| last1=McCartney| first2=Alicia| last2=Parlapiano| first3=Ashley| last3=Wu| first4=Christine| last4=Zhang| first5=Josh| last5=Williams| first6=Emily| last6=Cochrane| first7=John-Michael| last7=Murphy| date=January 6, 2023| work=The New York Times| url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/01/04/us/politics/house-speaker-vote-tally.html| access-date=January 9, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| first1=Kathryn| last1=Watson| first2=Melissa| last2=Quinn| title=Kevin McCarthy wins speaker race after a grueling 4 days and 15 rounds of voting| date=January 7, 2023| url=https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/house-speaker-race-vote-kevin-mccarthy-watch-live-stream-today-2023-01-06/| work=CBS News| access-date=January 9, 2023}}</ref> He was [[Removal of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House|removed from office]] less than ten months later, the first time in American History the House voted to remove its incumbent speaker.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Edmonson |first1=Catie |last2=Broadwater |first2=Luke |date=October 3, 2023 |title=House to Vote on McCarthy's Future as Speaker - The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/03/us/mccarthy-gaetz-speaker-news/kevin-mccarthy-speaker |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003140056/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/03/us/mccarthy-gaetz-speaker-news/kevin-mccarthy-speaker |archive-date=October 3, 2023 |access-date=November 15, 2023 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> This led to [[October_2023_Speaker_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives_election|multiple rounds of voting]] across multiple weeks to replace him, ultimately leading to the election of Representative [[Mike Johnson]]. This came after two weeks of negotiations between Republicans, including three failed votes for Speaker.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 25, 2023 |title=Live updates: Rep. Mike Johnson elected speaker, breaking weeks-long stalemate |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/25/house-speaker-vote/ |access-date=October 25, 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en}}</ref>

===Multi-ballot elections===
In total, there have been 16 elections requiring multiple ballots to elect a speaker, with 13 before the [[American Civil War]], one in 1923, and two in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Speaker Elections Decided by Multiple Ballots |url=https://history.house.gov/People/Office/Speakers-Multiple-Ballots/ |access-date=October 26, 2023 |publisher=United States House of Representatives}}</ref>

{{Table alignment}}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders defaultleft col1center col5center"
! scope="col" | Con{{shy}}gress
! scope="col" | Person elected
! scope="col" | Party
! scope="col" | District
! scope="col" | {{abbr|#|Number of}}<br />Ballots
! scope="col" | Election date(s)
|-
|[[3rd United States Congress|3rd]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|Frederick|Muhlenberg}}
| [[Anti-Administration]]
| {{ushr|PA|AL|B}}
|3
|data-sort-value="179312"|[[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#December 1793|December 2, 1793]]
|-
|[[6th United States Congress|6th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|Theodore|Sedgwick}}
| [[Federalist Party|Federalist]]
| {{ushr|MA|1|B}}
|2
|data-sort-value="179912"|[[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#December 1799|December 2, 1799]]
|-
|[[9th United States Congress|9th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|Nathaniel|Macon}}
| [[Democratic-Republican]]
| {{ushr|NC|6|B}}
|3
|data-sort-value="180512"|[[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#December 1805|December 2, 1805]]
|-
|[[11th United States Congress|11th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|Joseph Bradley|Varnum}}
| [[Democratic-Republican]]
| {{ushr|MA|4|B}}
|2
|data-sort-value="180905"|[[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#May 1809|May 22, 1809]]
|-
|[[16th United States Congress|16th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|John W.|Taylor|dab=politician}}
| [[Democratic-Republican]]
| {{ushr|NY|11|B}}
|22
|data-sort-value="182011"|[[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#November 1820|November 13–15, 1820]]
|-
|[[17th United States Congress|17th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|Philip P.|Barbour}}
| [[Democratic-Republican]]
| {{ushr|VA|11|B}}
|12
|data-sort-value="182112"|[[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#December 1821|December 3–4, 1821]]
|-
|[[19th United States Congress|19th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|John W.|Taylor|dab=politician}}
| [[National Republican]]
| {{ushr|NY|17|B}}
|2
|data-sort-value="182512"|[[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#December 1825|December 5, 1825]]
|-
|[[23rd United States Congress|23rd]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|John|Bell|dab=Tennessee politician}}
| [[Jacksonian democracy|Jacksonian]]
| {{ushr|TN|9|B}}
|10
|data-sort-value="183406"|[[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#June 1834|June 2, 1834]]
|-
|[[26th United States Congress|26th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|Robert M.&nbsp;T.|Hunter}}
| [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]]
| {{ushr|VA|9|B}}
|11
|data-sort-value="183912"|[[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#December 1839|December 14–16, 1839]]
|-
|[[30th United States Congress|30th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|Robert Charles|Winthrop}}
| [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]]
| {{ushr|MA|1|B}}
|3
|data-sort-value="184712"|[[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#December 1847|December 6, 1847]]
|-
|[[31st United States Congress|31st]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|Howell|Cobb}}
| [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| {{ushr|GA|6|B}}
|63
|data-sort-value="184912"|[[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#December 1849|December 3–22, 1849]]
|-
|[[34th United States Congress|34th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|Nathaniel P.|Banks}}
| [[Know Nothing|American]]
| {{ushr|MA|7|B}}
|133
|data-sort-value="185512"|[[1855–56 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election|December 3, 1855 – February 2, 1856]]
|-
|[[36th United States Congress|36th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|William|Pennington}}
| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| {{ushr|NJ|5|B}}
|44
|data-sort-value="185912"|[[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#December 1859 – February 1860|December 5, 1859 – February 1, 1860]]
|-
|[[68th United States Congress|68th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|Frederick H.|Gillett}}
| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| {{ushr|MA|2|B}}
|9
|data-sort-value="192312"|[[1923 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election|December 3–5, 1923]]
|-
|data-sort-value="118.1"|[[118th United States Congress|118th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|Kevin|McCarthy}}
| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| {{ushr|CA|20|B}}
|15
|data-sort-value="202301"|[[January 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election|January 3–7, 2023]]
|-
|data-sort-value="118.2"|[[118th United States Congress|118th]]
| scope="row" | {{sortname|Mike|Johnson}}
| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| {{ushr|LA|4|B}}
|4
|data-sort-value="202310"|[[October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election|October 17–25, 2023]]
|}