On Tuesday evening, I was at the TN GOP Victory Party when it became official: The Republicans had captured control of the House by one seat. The first question that came to my mind was, “Who will be speaker?”
It’s becoming clear who WANTS to be Speaker of the House. Rep. Jason Mumpower, House Minority Leader, told reporters yesterday that he would be interested in the job. Rep. Beth Harwell also wants the gavel. And current Speaker Jimmy Naifeh made it clear in his statement yesterday that he intends to lead. Who else wants to be speaker?
I was told by a capitol insider once that almost immediately after the votes are in on election night, the phones start ringing. Those interested in the job would be lobbying their colleagues for support and trying to gather enough votes. No doubt, this is already happening. While we all might not be privy to that process, we will eventually see who comes out on top.
[...] Cara Kumari wants to know who else we should add to the list of potential state House speakers: It’s becoming clear who WANTS to be Speaker of the House. Rep. Jason Mumpower, House Minority Leader, told reporters yesterday that he would be interested in the job. Rep. Beth Harwell also wants the gavel. And current Speaker Jimmy Naifeh made it clear in his statement yesterday that he intends to lead. Who else wants to be speaker? [...]