Battle lines drawn in three-way race for House Republicans’ No. 3 spot – By Allan Smith and Scott Wong (NBC News) / Oct 6, 2022
Campaign chief Tom Emmer’s chances in the race for GOP whip may be intertwined with how well the party does on election night. If the party falls short of expectations, his rivals could benefit.
WASHINGTON — The House Republican leadership race generating the most buzz inside GOP circles isn’t whether or not Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will be elected speaker should control of the chamber flip after this fall’s election.
Rather, it’s a three-way battle further down the pecking order featuring two Republicans who, perhaps more than anyone else in this Congress, have carefully worked to mold the House GOP’s future, and a third who counts a powerful Republican leader as an ally.
Battle lines are already being drawn in the contest to see who will serve as the GOP whip in the next Congress, the No. 3 position in House Republican leadership. Reps. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s campaign arm; Jim Banks of Indiana, chair of the Republican Study Committee, a conservative caucus with more than 150 members; and Drew Ferguson of Georgia, the current chief deputy whip handpicked by the current GOP whip, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, are all vying for the job. Each contender seeks to brandish his chances by fundraising and campaigning for members across the country in the closing weeks of the 2022 midterm election campaign.
It’s a position that, assuming Republicans regain control of the lower chamber, will fall third in line behind McCarthy, from California, and Scalise, who is likely to serve as majority leader in a Republican-controlled House. Neither man has drawn a challenger.
