October 2015 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election information
October 2015 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
← January 2015
October 29, 2015 (2015-10-29)
2017 →
Needed to win: Majority of the votes cast 432 votes cast, 217 needed for a majority
Majority party
Minority party
Candidate
Paul Ryan
Nancy Pelosi
Party
Republican
Democratic
Leader's seat
Wisconsin 1st
California 12th
Members' vote
236
184
Percentage
54.63%
42.59%
Candidate
Others
Members' vote
12
Percentage
2.78%
Speaker before election
John Boehner
Republican
Elected Speaker
Paul Ryan
Republican
On October 29, 2015, during the 114th United States Congress, an election for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives was necessitated by the impending resignation of John Boehner, set for October 30.[1] Boehner was the first speaker to resign in the middle of a Congressional term since Jim Wright in 1989.[2]
This was 124th speaker of the House election since the office was created in 1789. Republican representative Paul Ryan, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, won the election, receiving 236 votes, an absolute majority of the 435-member chamber. Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, garnered 184 votes, with 12 more going to others. As 432 representatives cast a vote, the majority needed to win was 217. Ryan (age 45) was the youngest person elected as speaker since James G. Blaine (age 39) in 1869. After the vote, Ryan delivered his first remarks as speaker-elect and was sworn in by John Conyers, the dean of the House.[3]
Boehner had been speaker since January 5, 2011, and during his tenure had managed substantial friction within the House Republican Conference, most notably several high-profile disputes with the Freedom Caucus. On September 25, 2015, Boehner announced his decision to resign as speaker and from Congress. He scheduled a Republican Conference non-binding vote for speaker on October 8, and a full floor vote on October 29.
Several Republicans expressed interest in becoming speaker. Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Leader was initially viewed as the favorite, but withdrew his name from consideration on October 8, when the Freedom Caucus refused to support him, and the conference vote was postponed. Immediately afterwards, an effort was made to recruit the widely respected Paul Ryan, who had been the 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, for the post; but he had repeatedly insisted that he was not interested in the job.[4] However, after receiving pledges of support from each of the various party factions, Ryan declared his candidacy. The several other Republicans interested in running for speaker promptly endorsed Ryan; only Daniel Webster remained in the race. Ryan won the rescheduled conference vote on October 28, and was elected speaker the next day.
^Steinhauer, Jennifer (September 25, 2015). "John Boehner Will Resign From Congress". The New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
^Bomboy, Scott (September 30, 2015). "Why Boehner's resignation is truly historic for House speakers". National Constitution Center. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
^House Session (Liner notes). C-SPAN. October 29, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
^DeBonis, Mike; Costa, Robert; Helderman, Rosalind S. (October 8, 2015). "House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy drops out of race for House speaker". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
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