Jordan Still Searching for Votes With Moderate Holdouts

As Republican members of the U.S. House were arriving in Washington on Monday afternoon for their latest closed-door meeting that evening, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, seemed to have the wind at his back.

Momentum seemed to favor him, but sources in the GOP caucus tell me Jordan still faces as many as 10 "never Jordan" votes.

Earlier that day, a stream of lawmakers who had previously supported House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and who had been critical of Jordan, suddenly began to weigh in for the Ohioan.

House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers, R-Ala., issued a statement saying he had had a serious discussion with Jordan about various issues (including the Farm Bill) and would vote for him for speaker.

Rogers had been a strong Scalise backer.

Also publicly endorsing Jordan were California Rep. Ken Calvert, dean of the Golden State's GOP delegation to the House, and Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo.

At the conference meeting last Friday in which Jordan secured the endorsement of his colleagues for speaker, sources told Newsmax that Wagner told her colleagues Scalise helped her when she faced a difficult reelection last year and Jordan wouldn't.

"I cannot vote for Jim Jordan for speaker," Wagner had told members.

On Monday morning, however, she endorsed Jordan for speaker.

The apparent swing to Jordan is primarily fear among Republican members that, if they fail to elect Jordan speaker, they may have to accept the "coalition speaker" idea that four centrist Democrats proposed over the weekend.

But other members say there are several GOP members waiting to put their name forward for speaker, some of whom have strong conservative credentials like Jordan and Scalise, but without the enemies list.

At the Republican conference on Monday night, there were clear signs Jordan is close, but has still not closed the deal.

Several members fear that Jordan, who has become a national figure for his fiery Judiciary Committee meetings, will be a poor face for the GOP as it goes into an election year.

Redistricting changes in key states and a Democratic focus on 11 vulnerable New York GOP districts, have most political experts thinking the Republicans will lose control of the House.

If Republicans have a shot of keeping their majority and even growing it, the House needs to appeal to independent and swing voters.

Jordan, hugely popular among the MAGA base, may not be the speaker who can close that gap.