NC Republicans voted for the biggest election denier in Congress as House speaker | Opinion

Let’s start with the good news. Election denier Jim Jordan fell notably short of the 217 votes needed to become House speaker in a first floor vote Tuesday, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to win over the 20 Republicans who refused to vote for him.

Now for the bad news: All seven Republicans from North Carolina voted for Jordan, a troubling show of support for a man who belongs far, far away from the speaker’s gavel.

Jordan was deeply intertwined with Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, perhaps more so than any of his Republican colleagues. He began pushing lies and conspiracies about a stolen election even before Election Day. He actively schemed with Trump and Rudy Giuliani and personally led discussions about stopping the electoral count and organizing a “march to the Capitol” on Jan. 6. Now, perhaps returning the favor, Trump has endorsed his speakership bid.

The fact that such a man is so close to becoming one of the most powerful elected officials in the country — second in line to the presidency — is deeply troubling. His ascent further cements the GOP’s troubling rightward shift, and it’s further proof that Republicans have become a party of grievance instead of a party of governing.

No one embodies that better than Jordan, who has never passed a bill in his 16 years of serving in Congress and was once described by former Republican speaker John Boehner as a “legislative terrorist.” Instead of passing legislation, Jordan engages in antics like the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and the needless grilling of Biden administration officials like Attorney General Merrick Garland. It makes for great TV, but it certainly doesn’t make him a leader.

Jordan was not the party’s first choice to replace Kevin McCarthy, but he became the speaker-designate after it was clear that a number of far-right holdouts would not support someone else. Garnering support from both the centrist and extremist factions of the party is a task that has eluded every GOP speaker prospect so far, including Jordan. Unlike with McCarthy, however, Tuesday’s Jordan holdouts largely represent the more “reasonable” wing of the party.

No Republican representing North Carolina in Congress can claim to be “reasonable” today, however. Every single one of them voted for the guy who tried to nullify the election. It doesn’t matter whether they genuinely believe Jordan is the best choice for speaker or if they simply voted for him for the sake of party unity. They still voted for him. And no matter what happens next, they can’t walk back that vote.

This story was originally published October 17, 2023 at 3:43 PM.