Vote Count: McCarthy Elected House Speaker After 15 Ballots

Representative Kevin McCarthy of California was voted House speaker on the 15th ballot just after midnight Friday. The final six holdouts in a group of ultraconservative Republicans voted “present,” lowering the threshold for him to win.

A table that shows the current tally for the most recent vote for speaker of the House.

15th Speaker Vote Final Tally

	Total	Dem.	Rep.
McCarthy	216	0	216
Jeffries	212	212	0
	6	0	6

Note: To win, a member must receive the majority of votes cast for a person, not counting “present” votes. The Constitution specifies that House members choose the speaker, but the speaker does not have to be a current or even a former representative.

Mr. McCarthy needed 218 votes if every member of Congress cast a ballot, so he only could afford to lose four Republican votes. By the 14th round of voting, held on Friday, all but six of the 21 Republicans who had previously opposed Mr. McCarthy (or simply voted “present”) had flipped their votes.

How the 21 Republican Holdouts Have Voted

A table that shows the tally of votes by round by Republicans who have voted against Mr. McCarthy.

Ballot round	McCarthy	Other	Present
11th	0	20	1
12th	14	7	0
13th	15	6	0
14th	15	4	2
15th	15	0	6

Note: See a breakdown of individual member votes below.

Two Republicans who had withheld their support from Mr. McCarthy — Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado —voted “present,” lowering the threshold for him to win to 217 votes but still leaving him one vote short. All 212 Democrats voted for Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader.

The House was initially set to adjourn after the 14th vote, but after furious negotiations on the floor, a 15th vote commenced. In that final vote, all six remaining detractors voted “present,” lowering the threshold to win by enough for Mr. McCarthy to secure the speakership.

A table that shows summary tallies for each ballot round of House speaker votes.

Ballot round	Total	McCarthy	Jeffries	Other
1st	434	203	212	19
2nd	434	203	212	19
3rd	434	202	212	20
4th	433	201	212	20
5th	433	201	212	20
6th	433	201	212	20
7th	433	201	212	20
8th	433	201	212	20
9th	432	200	212	20
10th	432	200	212	20
11th	432	200	212	20
12th	431	213	211	7
13th	432	214	212	6
14th	432	216	212	4
15th	428	216	212	0

Note: To win, a member must receive the majority of votes cast for a person, not counting “present” votes which are not included in this table.

In the first vote, held on Tuesday, 19 House Republicans voted for a Republican other than Mr. McCarthy. During the second vote, those same 19 opposed him but rallied around Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a founding member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus. Mr. Jordan pleaded with his colleagues to give their support to Mr. McCarthy, but all 19, plus an additional Republican, voted for Mr. Jordan on the third ballot.

In the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds of voting, held on Wednesday, the same 20 Republicans voted for Representative Byron Donalds of Florida, and one voted “present.” In the seventh through 11th rounds, held on Thursday, 20 Republicans continued to withhold support from Mr. McMarthy, and one voted “present.” Mr. McCarthy lost an additional Republican vote in the ninth through 11th rounds when Representative Ken Buck of Colorado did not vote.

How Every Representative Voted